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and good morning. welcome to "today." 7:00 a.m. on the west coast on a monday. i'm matt lauer. >> i'm meredith vieira. your heart goes out to everyone in joplin affected by that monster tornado. the skies have turned ominous yet again this morning as another powerful storm system rolls in. >> what a few hours it has been. when we first got to work this morning, we were told the storm was severe but about 25 or 30 people had been killed. that number quickly rose to over 89, and as you can see that, weather is not going to help any in the recovery or search efforts. among the buildings that took a direct hit on sunday, the town's hospital, st. john's. doctors and you are ins had just moments to scramble patients into hallways. to give you a sense of the twister's power, x-rays and medical records from inside that hospital building have now been found more than 60 miles away. >> president obama called missouri's governor a short time ago to offer his condolences, while promising the full support of the federal government. but as we said, folks in joplin have another storm to deal with. al has been there all morning. he is with us by phone. good morning to you. >> reporter: you're looking at the radar. there is a very, very severe line of storms moving in. we're under a severe thunderstorm warning right now as another line moves in. we're in a strong risk area. and what's going on right now is we are looking at the second line of storms hitting this region. you know, currently we've had -- we look at the -- yesterday's radar, you can see the line build up out of nowhere. we talked to people who said those sirens went off and they're figurinhe h tyad 20 minutes of warning and within five minutes the storm hit. and it's just been a devastating day, 24 hours, for this area. as you take a look, you going to see that this -- these folks are still trying to clean up. it's going to be a long time in coming for this cleanup. >> oh, gosh. okay. got it. oh, my gosh. >> reporter: the eye of the storm, job lin, missouri. >> that is a monster tornado. >> reporter: a massive one-half to three-quarters of a mile wide tornado tore through diop pjopl throwing debris 18,000 feet into the air. >> oh, my gosh. this is awful. >> i don't know what that was. >> look at that. that is destroyed. >> this was an f-4 or f-5. >> dude, the trees. the trees are debarked. >> reporter: city streets and neighborhoods stripped bare in moments. within minutes, rescue workers raced to the scene, trying to save those trapped in the rubble. the weather channel's mike bettis was chasing the tornado when it hit ground. he arrived in joplin about ten minutes after the tornado hit. >> we just rolled up. this tornado came through maybe 45 minutes ago. i've personally witnessed injuries and fatalities here in joplin. we're trying to figure out if anybody else needs help. people are scrambling right now. take a scope of the other damage. just kind of taking my breath away here. multiple homes, businesses destroyed, cars that have been flipped, a mangled debris everywhere you look. people are trying to help people out any way they can. people being pulled out of buildings here this evening. we've come across many people. they need help. they need as much help in this area as possible. i think they'll be overwhelmed with the amount of damage, injuries and fatalities here. they need help in joplin. >> put my hands over my head. but my office is gone. [ sirens ] >> reporter: one of the area's primary sources of emergency care, st. john's regional medical center, was destroyed. >> the backup generators got hit. no power. there was literally nothing but darkness. the wind just started blowing the doors open and stuff started just flying, cracking. we all got down on the floor and just prayed that we made it through. >> reporter: the raw emotion of the moment was difficult even for a seasoned reporter. >> people are just looking for their loved ones, they're looking for family members. if you take a look here at this neighborhood, all i can say is it looks very reminiscent of what we saw last month in -- excuse me. in tuscaloosa. yeah. it's -- it's tough. no question about that. [ sirens ] >> it's a very tragic scene in joplin, missouri. just tornado devastation as far as the eye can see. off in the distance there, beyond the firefighters there, the search and rescue right now, we even have fires that are erupting in joplin. it really is an unfolding scene, changes minute by minute, neighbors are trying to pull -- oh, they just pulled out their dog. that is great. they just pulled the dog. he looks to be okay, out of the house there. that's great news. we know neighbors have been telling us, i know my neighbor's in there, i just can't get to them. it's too dangerous. there aren't enough first responders to deal with the immense tragedy that is here. >> reporter: joplin wasn't the only midwest area hit hard this weekend. tornadoes touched down in oklahoma and in minneapolis, killing at least one person there. hail the size of golf balls pelted the ground. but back in hard-hit diop pin, as dust settled, so did the harsh reality of all that's been lost. >> they had a theater and they had a play this evening. we had to dig in there, and we actually did have a couple dead in there. >> reporter: and meredith, as we sit in a couple of our vehicle, our crew and our truck, we're in another car, the rain is really coming down pretty hard. we have pea-sized hail. we could pick up anywhere from 2 to 3 inches of rain, which, as you might imagine, is just -- and there's more lightning -- is going to make this recovery and search and rescue effort that much more difficult. meredith? >> al, you say you're in a car. do you feel that you're safe? >> reporter: yeah. i think we're safe right now. i'm looking at the radar feed. we're not seeing any hook echoes. we're not seeing any boeing, so i think we're just in the midst of a very, very severe thunderstorm right now. so, no, we do not feel as if we are in any danger. one of our drivers is an ex-missouri state patrolman, state trooper, and he said he can get us to a shelter if we need to, but, again, she felters are few and far between. we're about ten minutes away from the closest shelter. so if this were to turn dangerous, we would take -- you know, we would head toward that. but right now we feel okay. >> all right, al. thank you so much. you stay safe. the weather channel's mike bell tis was one of the first reporters on the scene. he joins us by phone. mike, good morning. as we just heard in that taped spot, you got quite emotional describing the scene to viewers. what sticks out most in your mind of all the things you witnessed? >> well, i think it was just, you know, the raw emotion of the people that we're dealing with, the situation at the time. and i think i just got caught up in that at the same time with them because they were so panicked at the time, they were looking for loved ones or they were looking for their neighbors, they were looking for their pets. and it was just -- in the moment, it's something that you never anticipate having to witness, but when you do, sometimes your emotions get the better of you and you just kind of feel what the people who are being impacted are feeling. >> it's understandable. you have chased tornadoes before. how does this compare to -- >> this is easily the worst i've ever seen. i've seen many, many things covering weather. this is by far the most tragic event i've ever seen. the devastation is as far as you can see. it seems there are very few places in joplin that were spared. it breaks your heart when you see it up close and personal. >> absolutely. mike bettis, please stay safe. thank you very much. can't imagine what it's like trying to survive something like this. a group of people rode out the tornado at a gas station in joplin, then posted their experience on youtube. you can listen to the terror in their voices as that tornado hits. >> jesus. >> please, god. please. >> i love everyone, man. >> earlier this morning we spoke to mitch randalls, the fire chief in joplin, missouri. i began asking him where his personnel has been concentrating their efforts. >> well, we've completed -- we're working to complete an initial search of the damage area, which is about six mile wide -- or i'm sorry six mile long, half-mile wide swath through is center portion of joplin. in about an hour, we're going to swap out those crews that have been up all night in searching those areas with some fresh crews and start a grid door to door search of those areas again in the sunlight and daylight looking for, you know, survivors, people that are trapped, and just people in need of assistance so we can steer them towards the assistance that they need. >> chief, al roker has just talked about the weather forecast. it's iffy for today. there could be nor severe weather in that area. where are you taking people? because there are no shelters there anymore, to get them out of harm's way? >> well, actually, we do have a few shelters that we've opened. one is at missouri southern state college, and i believe the other is at one of our middle schools here in town. we are trying to get those folks in out of the weather in case that weather does actually come to fruition here. you know, we're of course hoping for no more weather like we had yesterday, and of course the rain is going to hamper some of the rescue efforts and make it a little bit more difficult for us to get out there and do the rescues and the searching for the trapped and injured still. >> chief, obviously your official duties are to oversee this search and rescue and recovery effort. but, you know, you're a resident, as well, and i understand you lost your own home. >> yep. yes, i did. >> is your family okay? was anyone there? >> yes. luckily, we were attending my son's graduation at the local high school last night when the storm warnings went out. so i just took them to work with me, to the firestation, and so i did have my entire family with me at the firestation when it did hit and destroyed our home. >> i'm sorry for the loss of your home. we obviously are thinking about all the people in that area who lost not only their homes but loved ones. our best wishes to you, chief. thanks for joining us this morning. >> all right. thank you. >> 11 after the hour. here's meredith. ken was working in his garage when the tornado hit. good morning to you. >> good morning. >> at first you thought this was going to be a small storm. at what point did you realize it was a big deal and you needed to take cover? >> well, i first realized it -- my dogs actually told me before the sirens did. they were going crazy, and i realized something was wrong so i brought them in. and then the sirens went off. so i have to credit my dogs with helping me get ready for the storm. >> and you went to your bathtub. you got into your bathtub because you heard of story where is people survived tornadoes by doing just that. as the tornado ripped through your neighborhood, can you describe those moments? >> yeah. i started looking out my bathroom window just to see what the wind was doing, and i saw one tree whipping back and forth and it went right down. second tree almost right after that. the third tree i decided i'm getting in the bathtub because i had heard of houses being leveled and people being saved by being in the bathtub, even though that was on my outside wall. i covered up with the pillows and waited to see what would happen. >> how frightened were you, ken? >> i was scared to death. i really, quite frankly, did not think i would be standing here today talking to you. >> once the tornado passed through your house, one of the only ones left standing, i think there are two left standing in your neighborhood, you walked out to look at the damage. what did you see? >> i don't know if you can see the devastation where i'm at. our town is about eight miles to the east here. it is exactly the same. trees down, leveled houses, mine was -- you know, i just don't understand why my house is still standing or the other one. i had two cars parked in the driveway, one totaled, one not touched at all. >> and, ken, do you know about your neighbors? i mean, as i said before, almost all the houses were destroyed. the people who lived in them okay as far as you know? >> yes. that's the one thing that amazed me is that we all came out and checked up on each other and made sure that we were all okay, and from all over the neighborhood. so, you know, it made me feel good about the safety of everybody where i'm at. >> ken, and finally, now that you've moved to your sister-in-laws. she moved to a part of town that was not affected by the tornado. as al reported, there is the possibility of more tornadoes today. how are you preparing for that possibility? >> well, right now we haven't even thought about that, actually. we want to go back to our house today and try to assess more damage. if it's going to rain like they say, i've got leaks all over my house because my roof is uncovered. and her house has a downstairs. i guess that's where we'll be if it happens. >> all right. ken also dealing with gas leaks in that neighborhood, as well. thank you so much for your time. our thoughts and prayers are with you and all the folks in joplin, missouri. >> thank you. >> we will have much more from joplin throughout the morning. we should note that nbc's brian williams will be in joplin live tonight on "nbc nightly news." let us get the other top stories of the morning. ann is at the news desk. good morning. >> matt and meredith, good morning. good morning to all of you. also in the news, in one of the taliban's most daring raids in years, a major pakistani navy base was invaded last night where heavily armed insurgents destroyed u.s. surveillance aircraft and also killed at least 12 pakistani security officers. pakistani commandos regained control of the base this morning after an 18-hour standoff with a team of insurgents. russian prime minister vladimir putin will reportedly run for president next year according to sources close to the former president of russia. a run could signal a power struggle with the current president, dmitry medvedev, who is his onetime protege. the two american hikers detained in iran were allowed a rare phone call home over the weekend, only the third call allowed since 2009. during the four-minute conversation, the hikers told their families that they had staged a 17-day hunger strike after they were prevented from getting letters. british officials say the ash plume from the icelandic volcano will likely reach scotland tonight and could affect air traffic there. although so far european aviation officials are only restricting flights in iceland. a cloud of ash shot 10.5 miles into the sky on sunday. and the classmates of the youngest victim of january's shooting in tucson, arizona, had an out of this world conversation last night. >> mesa verde elementary school, space shuttle "endeavour." how do you hear? >> the commander mark kelly, the husband of wounded arizona congresswoman gabrielle giffords, told the classmates of 9-year-old christina taylor green that it is important to work hard in school. good lesson there. it is now 7:17 on the west coast. back to matt and meredith. let's head back to al in joplin, missouri, for more on today's weather. al? >> thanks so much, meredith. we are looking at a severe thunderstorm warning that was just expired here in the joplin area. however, we do have a severe thunderstorm watch in effect until 1:00 this afternoon, very heavy rain. we are now in a strong risk area for these severe storms that could possibly generate a tornado or two, certainly hail, strong winds, heavy rain. and then we're also looking at anywhere from 2 to 4 inches of rain out of this system. so we could be looking at flooding. so there are flood watches and flood warnings for southern missouri, arkansas, as we continue to watch this system push through. we are watching right now rescue efforts going on with a missing 73-year-old in a devastated house. wow, we have a much better scenario happening in our neck of the woods. our temperatures are mild this morning. on the cool side. 54 degrees. 53 in oakland by noon. 63 at noon in san jose. we round out the day in the 70s. five to seven degrees warmer than yesterday. overall, a nice couple days. the rain moves in for wednesday. it clears out before start of thursday. hope you have a fantastic monday. moines iowa, where he'll make a formal announcement today. governor pawlenty, good morning. >> good morning, matt. >> nice to have youing. >> good morning. >> let me ask you the simple question. why do you want to be president? >> i want to be president because america is in trouble. our finances are out of control. the debt and deficit aren't being tackled by the current president. i have experience in minnesota as governor in tackling spending. i balanced budgets. i got an a rating from the cato institute. one of o four governors to do it and the other four aren't running for president. president obama doesn't have the courage to look the american people in the eye and tell them the tough truth of what we have to do to get spending under control. >> since you talk about balancing budgets and the record in minnesota, let me ask you about this. a former republican governor of the state of minnesota, arnie carlson, had this to say about your time there and your fiscal responsibility. quote, i don't think any governor has left behind a se financial mess than he has. this is a republican saying that. how do you respond? >> well, actually arnie carlson had become an obama and john kerry supporter and said he'd left the republican party some years ago. it's not accurate. every time during my time as governor -- eight years, four budget cycles, i balanced the budget every time. the last one ends this summer and it will still end in the black. they are talking about a projected deficit down the road based on big spending increases i don't support and wouldn't allowed had i continued as governor. >> takes a lot of money to run for president, especially going against mitt romney who has a lot of money and can raise a lot. some of the thinking was donors may have been sitting on the sidelines waiting to hear what mitch daniels was going to do. he announced he won't run. i know you have reached out to those donors. what response are you getting? >> the response has been good. we are not going to be the money champion. mitt romney will be the front-runner in that regard. but we'll have enough money to run a successful campaign. it may not be the bmw or mercedes campaign but it will be a buick or a cadillac and that will be enough to win. >> you're in the single digits. looks like mitt romney seems to be the front runnerer now. let me ask you a direct question. why would you be a better nominee than mitt romney? >> i don't criticize or draw contrastses to other people. i can tell you my strengths. when it comes to getting the federal spending, deficit and debt under control, like i said, there are only four governorses that got the a rating. i did. i cut taxes. did market-based government reform. performance pay for teachers. that's why outside groups are saying this is one of the best if not the best conservative record in the country. i'm proud of the record and it's a strength i bring to it. i have a background that a lot of american wills like. i grew up in a blue collar town. my dad was a truck driver. my mom was a home maker. those stories connect with people not just in terms of policy positions but a heart and gut level as well. >> people often look at you and say was there enough charisma for tim pawlenty to beat barack obama? what's your answer? >> i'm not running for entertainer in chi