the kind of rain tonight that you get in a hurricane. you are getting in this town. the kind of rain that they just don t need after what appears to have been an ef-4 tornado. one rare, 1% of tornadoes ever recorded. that kind of strength pops into this town about three-quarter of a mile wide and runs for three miles and some are estimated six on the ground. this doesn t skirt the edge of town. it runs through the middle of town wiping out the southern section of the town turning it into bare trees and a bunch of shattered timber and cars that are balled up. not cars that are blown across a parking lot but turned into balls of steel. it s just an incredible scene here in joplin, missouri. we re hearing stories of hail stones bigger than golf balls raining down on joplin. aside from all of the other stuff that was going with the tornado, that sounds really terrifying.
as a whole? a couple of things, that al-qaeda in the arabian peninsula, based in yemen, has been rising in terror prominence and destructiveness in recent years, even while usama bin laden was alive. the question is will this become the premiere part of the al-qaeda terror network now that bin laden is dead. also, for al-asiri, now that investigators have his fingerprint on the bomb they can continue to build a terror case against him, just in case he s been captured he s ever captured alive. rick rick molly henneberg, live for us in washington, molly, thanks. alisyn: it s an royal welcome for president obama and first lady michelle obama, today in london. the obamas meeting with queen elizabeth at buckingham palace, ahead of tonight s lavish dinner being held in honor of the president s official visit. greg palkot is live in london. what are we seeing there today, greg? reporter: alisyn, it is a gorgeous day here in london, and president obama and the first lady, michelle, just
follow-up any minute now from former minnesota governor tim pawlenty. also, we are looking at the major story here. this is parts of joplin, missouri. they are unrecognizable today. the tornado killed at least 89 people and has left devastation in its path. we re talking about a high school, a hospital, both severely damaged. officials are saying as many as a quarter a quarter of the buildings suffered major or significant damage. our cnn s randi kaye is taking a closer look at the storm as well as the aftermath. got it. there, oh, my gosh. oh, my gosh. reporter: this is what the massive tornado looked like as it was bearing down on joplin, missouri. but listen to this. this is what it sounded like from inside a convenience store where terrified customers rode out the storm jammed inside a dark refrigerated store room. we talked to one of those who
reporter: this is what the massive tornado looked like as it was bearing down on joplin, list missouri. but listen to this. this is what it sounded like from inside a convenience storm where customers were jammed inside of a refrigerator room. there were people in the back huddled down and people were deciding what to do and all of a sudden the glass in the front of the building got sucked out and completely blew out and so my dud d buddy had the idea that we should run as fast as we could and get inside of the cooler. reporter: the people inside thankful to be alive. the only thing left standing was the cooler that we were in.
rescue efforts going on right now after a monster tornado hits the heart of joplin, missouri. parts of the town of 55,000 people now unrecognizable. at least 89 people have lost their lives. and just in case you missed it, we take you there the unforgettable, chilling moments. oh my gosh. oh my kbosh. this is what the massive tornado looked like as it was bearing down on joplin, missouri. but listen to this. this is what it sounded like from inside a convenient store where terrified customers rode out the storm jammed inside a dark refrigerated storeroom. we talked to one of those who was crammed inside. caller: there was about 20 people in the back huddled down. and everyone was kind of