distinct possibility. i ll be joined by t.j. holmes from cnn. you used to work for an nbc affiliate in joplin. you re now back there tonight. have you in your darkest nightmares you could never have imagined this kind of scene, could you? reporter: no. i m coming in parts of a town that i know so well are unrecognizable right now. you have a tough time. i have a tough time getting my bearings in certain places even though i should know exactly where i am. i am from the south, from arkansas, worked in arkansas, been covering tornadoes a long time. it seems cliche but you never have seen anything like this in your life. it s something worth noting here about this town, joplin, missouri. this town, yes, it s small. 50,000 people. but this town is the economic life. it is the engine of this entire area here in southwest missouri because there are so many other towns around.
such a scene of chaos here i would like for them to still have hope they may see that loved one alive. when we tour the damage and just on that side down the hill, there is nothing there. we are told that when you look there you can see the horizon for miles. we re told that they were giant homes and big apartment complexes and big shopping centers. that number at 116 about doesn t surprise me and do i believe it might be higher? personally, piers, i think it really might be. sam, we can see the weather conditions with you now are atrocious. we hear there s a 45% chance of another tornado hitting joplin, which would be an appalling new blow for them but we hear there are threats of tornadoes in wider area to dallas and other cities, kansas, i m hearing. what are you picking up or what do you think will happen over the next few hours? reporter: what we ve seen is there s a stationary front really. it s an incredible setup.
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. reporter: it is terrifying. you have to understand that these people just last night at about this time were stumbling out of the debris of their home and didn t know where they were and didn t know where their
have a count for how many people may still be missing. we have not been able to get a count like that. i m not sure if you ve heard anything that s newer information than i have, piers. on the ground here we haven t heard anything. i m seeing the images and it seems impossible to me the death toll will stay at 116. you see vast sways of the region just decimated. it s like a scene sort of armageddon scene. really appalling pictures. reporter: it s very strange. you walk through some of these areas that are just completely destroyed. it is destroyed as far as the eye can see. i m on kind of a hilltop and all you see are shredded trees. again, you walk through some neighborhoods and you don t hear anything except for the wind blowing and the sound of the
is obviously good for anybody that s trapped but with the severe weather, the cold, it s really difficult and for rescuers it makes their job just all the more difficult. they are still out there for many hours searching for people. the last i heard they had found seven people alive. at this point we still don t have a count for how many people may still be missing. we have not been able to get a count like that. i m not sure if you ve heard anything that s newer information than i have, piers. on the ground here we haven t heard anything. i m seeing the images and it seems impossible to me the death toll will stay at 116. you see vast sways of the region just decimated. it s like a scene sort of armageddon scene. really appalling pictures. reporter: it s very strange. you walk through some of these areas that are just completely destroyed. it is destroyed as far as the eye can see. i m on kind of a hilltop and all