race against the odds tonight, hoping to find survivors in the rubble. and there's this, a forecast warning of more tornadoes and severe weather across the midwest tomorrow and joplin is again in the danger zone. jackqui jeras is in joplin and gives us the very latest on this stunning stunning tornado. >> reporter: people are in search and rescue mode and the best news we have heard today is that seven people have been found alive, so seven survivors in joplin, missouri and that search and rescue is the big focus, and they say it's going to be a number of days that they're going to continue to go out there, and one of the biggest problems we have been dealing with has been the weather, more weather has been coming in here, nonstop throughout the day, we have had these waves of showers and thunderstorms, producing lightning, producing hail and torrential downpours so it's making it very difficult for workers to get where they need to be to try and help some of these people and the concern is that some of them are going to get wet as well as the temperatures drop throughout the night. more severe weather expected here tomorrow as well, in fact a moderate risk has been issued by the storm prediction center for the severe weather, so the threat of tornadoes will be out there for southwestern parts of missouri. the damage is just incredible, in all of my years of reporting those tornadoes, i have never seen this much devastation over such a wide area through town. things are just strewn about every way, you can see the scene behind me, workers are coming in now with tow trucks trying to get rid of some of these cars that have been thrown feet away that have just been crushed and the smell of gas remains very strong also from some of these cars, so they're trying to get equipment in here, emergency personnel are here, 450 strong, about 250 of those are national guard members and they say another 450 on top of that are on stand by as needed, this is a real community effort, local, state and federal government all here on the scene and they say they're going to be here throughout the duration to help the people in joplin, missouri. john? >> jacqui jeras on the scene live. we'll take in touch with jacqui and the others throughout the evening. 49,000 people, southwest missouri just inside the borders of kansas and oklahoma. it's in the bible belt. the tornado demolished a catholic church. it's also near a major interstate highway. isa isaac duncans heard the sounds but not the sight the moment the tornado hit. >> we're good. >> we're okay. [ screaming and crying ] >> jesus! jesus! >> another camera, this one on a storm chaser's car dashboard caught the moment the tornado dipped down out of the clouds, you can see the storm chaser trying to warn the police. >> hey, guys. the tornado's trying to come down right here. the winds are to the north and it's kind of back around, the tornado's right here, it's coming on the ground right here, get the sirens going. get the sirens going, i'm telling you. >> roughly a quarter of the city has severe damage, the local electric company says 18,000 customers were out of power late this afternoon. i want to join us to get more of the scope of the devastation here. bill is a member of the missouri state house, he and his wife have an incredible story. let's take us back to the moment you were out have been having dinner i understand when the natu tornado hit. >> we had gone to the local i hop, my wife and granddaughter met us there, they had been in town shopping and my son and grandson and i joined them. we had just gotten seated and gotten our glasses of water and ready to order, and i noticed another state representative and his family, bill white, were there at the ihop. and bill, i had my back to the windows, and bill was looking outside and he got up and walked to the door. when he came back, he told me that, he says, get our family under cover, there's debris in that storm cloud. so that was a pretty good indication there was a tornado, we got up and with bill's efforts about 40-something people crowded into the kitchen, jane and i and the grandkids all got down on the floor, they got under some stainless steel tables, and basically just rode the thing out. it was -- it seemed like it lasted forever, but i'm sure it was something like a minute or two of actual wind. but as it started quieting down, we looked around and there was literally no walls, of course all the windows were gone, the roof was gone, basically all that was left was the kitchen. but i could, in the midst of the thing, i could hear jane and my granddaughter both praying over the noise of the storm, so they were doing some pretty loud praying. >> and thank the lord those prayers were successful in keep yog u safe. obviously you're in the ihop, and the ihop is destroyed around you, what was the scene outside? >> whenever it has finally calmed down and we were trying to get out from underneath the tables and all, all of a sudden, someone yelled there's gas, and so it was still raining and still hailing out, and we all got out and we had nowhere to go. you know, you're just not used to that. the cars were completely demolished and we had both vehicles there, and all -- like 40, 50 people, but there was nowhere to go. and there was a little bit of an overhang on the front of the ihop, and i held the children under there, but still thinking there would be gas there, i'm very protective of them and it was just an experience. is the only way we can put it. >> and bill, you drove around the town, i want you to describe what your town, your community looks like tonight, and as you do, have you been in touch with the state rep there, have you been in touch, what is the sense of the hope or the dwindling hopes, forgive me for saying it that way of finding any survivors now at this hour now, pretty much a day later in the rubble? >> about an hour ago, i was asking with the newt county sheriff's department, the fellas had a mobile command unit set up down on south maine and no one is giving up. i mean there's still a lot of people coming in volunteers, are coming in and searching through rubble. as i drove through town, we had a devastating tornado hit our business three years ago, but we're out on a rural location with the business and as i was driving through town, i was absolutely amazed at the destruction and the way everything is so piled up, there could easily be people still in basements and crawl spaces and so i'm certainly not giving up on survivors being found. >> bill and jane lant, we're going to keep in touch and we share your hopes that the search and rescue teams can find some miracles in that rubble tonight and into the morning hours if necessary, we'll keep in touch with the lants. chad meyers is in the cnn weather center, when you hear the stories like this, you see the pictures like this, veteran, seasoned people who have tornados in their community, nothing like this, tell us why. >> because this was the big tornado of the day. there may have not been one bigger tornado or as big tornado, the rest of the day. yesterday wasn't a big severe weather day. today we'll have more tornadoes, probably than yesterday, but there was one, that was one tornado that rolled through that town and it was an f-4 tornado and i'll get to that scale a little bit. but what we have here is the town of joplin, right there. 50,000 people, i heard you say that, 50,000 people in the city of joplin proper. but there are suburbs literally around job lynplin, that's abou 150,000 people around downtown joplin. so you get all these together and there is a giant hook on a supercell, no weather here, no weather here, it's all by itself. they're choosing all of this moisture to come in and gobble up literally the atmosphere here making it the most severe storm possible which is caused mesocyclone which is the severe supercell. that's downtown joplin right through here. that's the gray area, a lot of concrete buildings downtown and then down to the south, 20th and 26th street, and i know you'll be showing pictures later, of a walmart and of a home depot, that's right at that same spot that that representative you just talked to was. there knows not much at all left of that walmart and very little at all left of the outside part of the home depot, i guarantee somehow there will still be people trapped in this debris and in this rubble, john, and we will find them days to come and they will still be alive. this rain is helping them believe it or not because rather than be dehydrated, they can drink the rain water to stay alive. i know it's an ugly thought, but staying alive is staying alive. >> chad's going to be back with us in a little bit because the rain may be helping those right now, but chad will tell the rain is an ominous forecast for the region. ♪ [ male announcer ] every day thousands of people are switching from tylenol to advil. to learn more and get your special offer, go to takeadvil.com. take action. take advil. go to takeadvil.com. ♪ ♪ membership rewards points from american express. they're a social currency with endless possibilities. should i bundle all my policies with nationwide insurance ? watch this. on one hand, you have your home insurance with one company. and on another hand, you have your auto with another. and on another hand, you have your life with another. huh... but when you bundle them all together with nationwide insurance... ... they all work together perfectly-- and you could save 25%. wow... it's all in the wrists. ♪ nationwide is on your side look at these pictures, stunning pictures here, this is the hospital parking lot. a hospital parking lot. the tornado not only hit joplin hard, it hit the hospital as well. look at the building in the back, the car in the foreground and the telephone pole. about 2,000 structures either heavily damaged or just gone. the hospital took a direct hit. people 70 miles away found some of the x-rays blown into their driveway. let's stop and take a look. here's the swathe of the storm right here. about a mile wide at its widest point, four miles wide as it came through. let me come in now and zoom in on this home depot. take a look at the building, you have one in your community, i'm sure, you see the tar building out here, you see the parking lot out here, a pretty traditionallial structure right there. that was then, this is now. that is that same home depot, just gone, the building just destroyed. the debris thrown all around here. you see the aftermath of people coming to see. searchers of course combing through all this rubble as anxious townspeople wait and hope. >> my dad and my uncle are in there and i'm hope and praying to god they're okay. >> when is the last time you heard from them? >> before the tornado hit. >> casey wians with us now live from joplin and casey you hear the anguish, the fear, the anxiety right there. give us the latest on this search and what you have seen as you have wandered through this devastated community today. >> reporter: we were with the search and rescue team as it arrived at that home depot and we met that 17-year-old andrea and she was in tears as you can imagine, fearing that her father and her uncle were trapped inside that building. we still don't know if they're in or if they're out. what we do know is if they have pulled one survivor out of that home depot, it's unbelievable that anybody survived given the condition of that structure, but they also did find fatalities. we have been hampered as we have been reporting by the weather all day long, but they're still going at it. it was really amazing seeing that the rescue effort, they were using skip loaders to move big pallets full of propane tanks like you would put in the parking lot. very dangerous thing to do because those things could have explo exploded. there were people that may have been trapped inside that structure that they were willing to fake that risk. >> lost week we were talking about the governor of mississippi in the concept of the floods, warning fatigue, it's been a heavy season, and people are not taking the warnings seriously? >> absolutely, you get a mixed picture from the people we have spoken to so far today. some people did say they did have warning, 20 minutes worth of warning and they were able to seek shelter and get out of the path of the tornado or at least not get the brunt of it. but a lot of people did say, we're sort of used to them, we didn't think it was going to be that bad. and one man we interviewed said he was working in this hospital and he said he got five minutes of warning. maybe he didn't hearing the earlier ones, but by the time he started heading down to basement, glass was breaking all over, and his ears were popping, he said he didn't have enough warning, but people's experience are definitely varied. >> you can hear and see there, the weather complicating the search and rescue efforts. joining me now on the phone is terry darby, his home was destroyed last night. and he's calling this evening from a shelter where he will be spending the night. thank you for your time on this terrible time. were you at home when this hit and take me there, what did it sound like? what did it feel like? >> it started out as a nice, clear day, and then all of a sudden it just got really dark it came just like a train, you know, people have described it sounding like a train, that's exactly what it sounds like and then all of a sudden, limbs come flying through the windows and mortar comes down and bricks go everywhere, i mean it really, it really looked bad. >> what room of your -- what room were you in when it happened? >> i was in the living room, sitting watching television as a matter of fact. >> any warning at all, no, there was no warning, period. >> no warning period, what does your home look like sir in your neighborhood now? >> well, if you look at any -- have looked at any archival footage of the bombing during world war ii of hamburg or dresden, i think that give you a pretty good idea of how it looks. >> you have obviously made it to a shelter, what's the sense of your neighbors and your friends, did you lose people in your neighborhood? >> i believe there were three or four lost in my complex alone. i lived in a four-plex and i'm staying right now at mccauley catholic high school in joplin. >> you mentioned thattive you looked at archival footage of the war, we looked at some footage and you're right. it looks like a bomb zone. i have looked at the before and now the devastation today, have you had a chance to see that and what's the sense in the community? >> i haven't had an opportunity, they came and got me about 1:30, 2:00 in the morning because i really didn't want to leave my home, because i have a pet cat. and the fire department came and made me leave because they were afraid that the remaining structure on top of my facility was going to cave in. >> and, sir, it's probably maybe a tough question to answer, hours after all this, but what next for you, do you have insurance? can you rebuild, do you know? >> no, i don't and i can't rebuild because this was a four-plex that i rented. so, you know, i don't -- my plans right now are up in the air, i really don't have any. >> mr. darby, we want to thank you for your time tonight and let you know personally your entire community is in our thoughts and prayers and we wish you the best, sir. >> richard sirreno, let me just start on the search and rescue efforts tonight, 116 people dead, that ties for the deadliest tornado in our country's history. it's sad to say that we may eclipse that number, but what is your sense of the number of missing and whether you'll be successful in finding them? >> reporter: the local first responders have done unbelievable yeomen's work, they have been out there in the rain with a crew about a half hour ago, it started pouring, started hailing and the work they have done picking through the rubble, in the one-block area, this one team has been at it for hours, literally using their hands, looking to try and find some of the survivors, they knew that were people missing in that block. but the urban search and rescue teams, the police officers t firefighters, the emts and paramedics have been doing heroic work saving lives in the last 24 hours. >> at least seven people rescued today. is there a sense of what kind of a clock you're racing in terms there's people that have been buried for hours, it's going on night fall, there's some pretty nasty weather. what is the hope that you could still find people alive? >> we hold out hope for a while, we'll hold out hope for days, actually. the weather has been pretty rough, it's very windy and rainy, the temperature has dropped a bit, it's cool, but the work is the rescue workers, the firefighters, the emts have been really trying to find people, they have ideas where some of the people are and they're going to target those areas first and they have been going on a grid search neighborhood by neighborhood throughout the city. >> do you have a sense of how many people are unaccounted for, or is it still too chaotic to have a good number. >> speaking with the fire chief and the city manager, they didn't have a good sense of how many people were missing, they do have a list, they're going through that, it's really a local issue, part of the team to support the government, to support the city of joplin in any way that ke can. the president has made it clear that the government is going to be here to support. >> what joplin needs and what the federal government might be able to do to help. have you ever seen anything like this? >> this is total devastation. as far as you can see, we're standing on top of a hill here, the hospital is standing, but nothing else around them is standing for four to six miles long and approximately a half mile wide and there is absolutely nothing, it's just completely level throughout there. we're still focusing on the search and rescue operation, the local first responders and the state, and we're also looking for the future as we get to that, we'll be here for the long haul, we're not going to be here just for today, for a week, we're going to be here for months. >> and as you deal with this, your first overnight there, is there any one or maybe two things that joplin needs tonight that's your waiting for, whether it's more heavy equipment or something that somebody watching at home or something they could do? >> right now, one of the things we want people to do is actually the survivors in the area to contact fema if they need help. we'll be able to get some individual assistance, the president declared a disaster area and the people in the area, they can call 1-800-62-fema, so we can go start the recovery process with them. >> and in terms of shelter, in terms of food, whether it's for those, the people who don't have a home to go to tonight, and for everybody there trying to help-- >> right now, they have shelters open, they have enough room in the shelters, a lot of people have talked to survivors who are going to stay with family for the interim and for the long-term, we're looking at what they need for shelter. the people in joplin say they didn't have any unmet needs right now. but as we stated, we're just in the first hours of this and we're going to be here to support them in the long-term. >> that was the deputy administrator in fema. we wish you the best in the hours ahead. when we come back, we're going to hear from the principal of a catholic school that was flat out destroyed, destroyed. take a look right there by the tornado. ♪ [ male announcer ] in 2011, at&t is at work, building up our wireless network all across america. we're adding new cell sites... increasing network capacity, and investing billions of dollars to improve your wireless network expe