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World & Nation

‘Our hearts are broken,’ Oklahoma governor says of trapped kids

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Rodney Heltcel salvages items from the wreckage of his home of 21 years that was destroyed Monday when a tornado moved through Moore, Okla.  (Brennan Linsley / Associated Press)
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A destroyed Corvette sits in the rubble of a home in Moore, Okla.  (Tannen Maury / EPA)
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Two frightened and apparently lost dogs sit on a coffee table top in a destroyed neighborhood in Moore, Okla.  (Tannen Maury / EPA)
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The destruction left behind by Monday’s tornado in Moore, Okla.  (Tony Gutierrez / Associated Press)
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An aerial view shows the tornado’s path through a residential area in Moore, Okla.  (Tony Gutierrez / Associated Press)
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An aerial view of the aftermath of Monday’s tornado in Moore, Okla., shows homes that have been destroyed across the street from other dwellings that appear untouched.  (Tony Gutierrez / Associated Press)
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An entire neighborhood destroyed by Monday’s tornado in Moore, Okla.  (Tony Gutierrez / Associated Press)
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Rescue workers carefully make their way through the remains of Plaza Towers Elementary School.  (Tony Gutierrez / Associated Press)
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Chad Heltcel passes an antique doll cherished by his mother to a helper assisting him and wife Cassidi as they salvage what they can from the wreckage of their home.  (Brennan Linsley / Associated Press)
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People recover belongings from the rubble of a home in Moore, Okla.  (Tannen Maury / EPA)
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An aerial view shows a street lined by homes destroyed by Monday’s tornado.  (Tony Gutierrez / Associated Press)
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Firefighters help a fellow firefighter recover belongings from the rubble of his home in Moore, Okla.  (Tannen Maury / EPA)
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Zac Woodcock salvages items from the rubble of his tornado-ravaged rental home in Moore, Okla.   (Charlie Riedel / Associated Press)
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Air Force Airman 1st Class Justin Acord sifts through the rubble of his father-in-law’s home in Moore, Okla., after the town was hit by a tornado the day before.  (Tannen Maury / EPA)
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Kay James holds her cat as she sits in her driveway after her home was destroyed by the tornado that hit near Oklahoma City.   (Chris Landsberger / Associated Press)
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Plaza Towers Elementary School was almost obliterated by the tornado that struck Moore, Okla., on Monday.  (Steve Gooch / Associated Press)
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Two women sort through debris as they look for belongings in a leveled home the day after a tornado hit in Moore, Okla.  (Ed Zurga / EPA)
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Lea Bessinger salvages belongings as she and her son Josh sort through the rubble of her tornado-ravaged home in Moore, Okla.  (Charlie Riedel / Associated Press)
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Members of Nebraska Task Force 1 search a destroyed building the day after a tornado hit in Moore, Okla.  (Ed Zurga / EPA)
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An American flag blows in the wind at sunrise atop the rubble of a destroyed home a day after a tornado moved through Moore, Okla.  (Brennan Linsley / Associated Press)
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A woman is pulled out from under tornado debris at the Plaza Towers School in Moore, Okla.  (Sue Ogrocki / Associated Press)
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A fire burns in the Tower Plaza Addition in Moore, Okla., after a tornado roared through.   (Sue Ogrocki / Associated Press)
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A child is pulled from the rubble of the Plaza Towers Elementary School in Moore, Okla., and passed along to rescuers after Monday’s tornado.   (Sue Ogrocki / Associated Press)
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JoAnn Anderson sorts through the rubble of her home after a tornado in Moore, Okla.   (Steve Sisney / Associated Press)
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Rescuers recover a horse from the remains of a day-care center and destroyed barns in Moore, Okla.   (Steve Sisney / Associated Press)
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A monster tornado fills the sky as it ravages Moore, Okla., on Monday.   (Alonzo Adams / Associated Press)
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Oklahoma City firefighters check on Gene Tripp as he sits in a rocking chair where his home stood before it was destroyed by a tornado.   (Chris Landsberger / Associated Press)
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This frame grab provided by KWTV shows a tornado in Oklahoma City. Video shows flattened buildings and fires after a mile-wide tornado moved through the Oklahoma City area.   (KWTV / Associated Press)
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This photo provided by KFOR-TV shows a house fire outside Moore, after tornado as much as a mile wide roared through the Oklahoma City suburbs, flattening neighborhoods, leaving buildings ablaze landing a direct blow on an elementary school.  (KFOR-TV / Associated Press)
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A child is carried from the rubble of the Plaza Towers Elementary School following a tornado in Moore, Okla.  (Sue Ogrocki / Associated Press)
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Moore police dig through the rubble of Plaza Towers Elementary School after a tornado in Moore, Okla.  (Sue Ogrocki / Associated Press)
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A boy is pulled from beneath a collapsed wall at Plaza Towers Elementary School in Moore, Okla.  (Sue Ogrocki / Associated Press)
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Rescue workers dig through a collapsed wall at Plaza Tower Elementary School to free trapped students in Moore, Okla.  (Sue Ogrocki / Associated Press)
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Onlookers watch as children are pulled from the rubble of Plaza Towers Elementary School following a tornado in Moore, Okla.  (Sue Ogrocki / Associated Press)
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Rescue workers dig through the rubble of a collapsed wall at the Plaza Tower Elementary School to free trapped students in Moore, Okla.  (Sue Ogrocki / Associated Press)
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A child calls to his father after being pulled from the rubble of the Tower Plaza Elementary School after Monday’s tornado in Moore, Okla.   (Sue Ogrocki / Associated Press)
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A woman carries an injured child to a triage center near the Plaza Towers Elementary School in Moore, Okla.   (Sue Ogrocki / Associated Press)
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Wrecked vehicles outside Moore, Okla. in the wake of the tornado that struck on Monday.  (KFOR-TV / AP)
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Kasey Clark sorts through the debris of her grandmother-in-law Thelma Cox’s mobile home after it was destroyed by a tornado near Shawnee, Okla. A series of tornados moved across central Oklahoma on Sunday, killing two people and injuring at least 21.  (Brett Deering / Getty Images)
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Volunteers help clean out Jean McAdams’ mobile home after it was overturned by a tornado near Shawnee, Oklahoma.   (Brett Deering / Getty Images)
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A tornado leaves extensive damage along Interstate 40 at the junction with U.S. 177 on the west side of Shawnee, Okla., Sunday evening.  (Jim Beckel / Associated Press)
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A resident searches through the rubble of his mobile home in the Steelman Estates Mobile Home Park, destroyed by Sunday’s tornado, near Shawnee, Okla.   (Sue Ogrocki / Associated Press)
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A home sits damaged after a tornado moved through an area ear Shawnee, Okla.   (Brett Deering / Getty Images)
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This photo provided by KFOR-TV shows homes flattened outside Moore, Okla., after a monstrous tornado roared through the ares.   (KFOR-TV / Associated Press)
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Shawnee, Okla., firefighters assist driver Marco Corr as he is taken from the cab of his overturned truck Sunday after a tornado swept through.   (Jim Beckel / Associated Press)
By Julie Cart and Hector Becerra
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Oklahoma Gov. Mary Fallin spoke directly to citizens in her devastated state Monday night, saying, ‘We are looking under every single piece of debris” for the missing after a massive tornado ripped apart the Oklahoma City suburb of Moore.

“Our hearts are broken for the parents that are wondering about the state of their children that had been in the schools that have been hit today,” Fallin said. “I know that there are families wondering where their loved ones are.”

PHOTOS: Tornadoes hit Oklahoma

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The tornado, which touched down Monday afternoon, killed at least 51 people, many of them children, according to the state medical examiner’s office, which warned that the number is likely to rise through the night.

Fallin, a Republican, said she had called out the National Guard and declared federal emergencies in 21 counties affected by tornadoes that began hitting the state Sunday evening. The Monday tornado churned on the ground for 40 minutes over a 20 mile swath of destruction

Fallin said an “enormous amount” of buildings were damaged or destroyed. She urged Moore residents to stay away from the emergency scenes.

She said President Obama had offered assistance and that state officials were already in touch with the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

MAP: Path of destruction

Search and rescue teams were coming in from out of state, she said, as well as teams of rescue dogs.

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“We will bring in every single resource that we can,” Fallin said.

As night fell in Moore, emergency officials said search and rescue teams would work though the night. Dozens of responders were digging through high piles of debris at the shattered Plaza Towers Elementary School, which took a direct hit.

“Our thoughts and prayers go out to everyone impacted by the tornadoes and severe weather in Oklahoma, especially the families and loved ones of those killed, injured or missing,” said Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano said in a statement She pledged all available federal resources to the state.
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julie.cart@latimes.com

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hector.becerra@latimes.com

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World & Nation
Julie Cart

Julie Cart is a former environmental reporter for the Los Angeles Times, where she’s also been a sportswriter and a national correspondent. In 2009, Cart and colleague Bettina Boxall won the Pulitzer Prize for explanatory reporting. She left The Times in 2015.

Hector Becerra

Hector Becerra is managing editor of the Los Angeles Times. A native Angeleno who grew up in Boyle Heights, Becerra’s first foray into journalism was as the editor of the University Times at Cal State Los Angeles. He started his career at the Los Angeles Times in 1999 and was a general assignment reporter until 2014, covering everything from wildfires to crime to Latino cultural trends. He has been among the first to a murder scene as part of a ride-along in South L.A. and has tried his hand as a field worker, picking strawberries in Santa Maria. Becerra was part of the team of reporters that won the Pulitzer Prize’s Public Service award for its coverage of the city of Bell corruption scandal. He was city editor for the California section until 2022, when he was promoted to deputy managing editor. He was named managing editor in 2024.

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