Latest report says death toll in the  southwestern Missouri town of Joplin, after the devastating tornado has reached 89, with more than 2,000 structures  destroyed, Monday, as  search-and-rescue teams  pored through rubble and wreckage.

Earlier, at least 30 people were killed by  the powerful tornado, a local coroner told Reuters.

“We are recovering the dead,” Joplin police Sergeant Bob Higginbotham said hours after the powerful twister struck Sunday afternoon, leaving much of the town of 50,000 residents in ruins and plunging the city into darkness once night fell.

Higginbotham was busy collecting the names of people reported missing. “(It’s) devastating loss of life, horrible, and it goes on for miles,” he said.

St. John Regional Medical Center after the hit.

Governor Jay Nixon declared a state of emergency and ordered Missouri National Guard troops deployed to help state troopers and other agencies respond to storms he said “have caused extensive damage across Missouri.”

Source: Reuters