Definition: In this task, you are given a text of many news articles seperated by special token "|||||". Your task is to summarize them.
Input: Get in-depth local coverage of the Missouri twister from CNN affiliates KSHB and KODE. 
  
 (CNN) -- A tornado flattened buildings, snapped trees and tossed tractor-trailers like toys as it touched down in Joplin, Missouri, on Sunday night, causing an unknown number of deaths and injuries. 
  
 "I would say 75% of the town is virtually gone," said Kathy Dennis of the American Red Cross. 
  
 The twister was part of a line of severe weather that swept across the Midwest on Sunday, prompting tornado watches and warnings that stretched from Wisconsin to Texas. High winds and possible tornadoes struck Minneapolis and other parts of Minnesota, leaving at least one person dead and injuring nearly two dozen others, police said. 
  
 Witness: "Lots of overturned trees" | Hospital damaged 
  
  
  
 Authorities in Joplin were contending with multiple reports of people trapped, as well as significant structural damage to St. John's Regional Medical Center, which was hit directly by the tornado, city officials said. CNN affiliate KSHB said there were reports of fires throughout the hospital. 
  
 One facade of the building made of glass was completely blown out, and authorities were evacuating the medical center, said Ray Foreman, a meteorologist with KODE in Joplin. Makeshift triage centers were being set up in tents outside, witness Bethany Scutti said. 
  
 Missouri governor: "Total devastation" 
  
 Residents 70 miles away from Joplin in Dade County, Missouri, were finding X-rays from St. John's in their driveways, said Foreman, indicating the size and power of the twister. 
  
 Parts of the city were unrecognizable, according to Steve Polley, a storm chaser from Kansas City, Missouri, who described the damage as "complete devastation." 
  
 The tornado, which touched down just before 6 p.m. CDT, cut a path of destruction through the heart of the city, hitting heavily populated areas, Foreman said. 
  
 "We've had numerous vehicles picked up and thrown into houses," he said. 
  
 iReport: Are you there? Please send photos, videos 
  
 At least seven overturned tractor-trailers were seen on one stretch of Interstate 44 west of the city, said Michael Ratliff, who has been chasing storms for eight years. Ratliff said the possible tornado was "rain wrapped," making it impossible to see as it tore what he estimated to be a half-mile to three-quarter-mile path of damage. 
  
 Officials did not know how many were injured. Witnesses reported seeing some of the wounded being ferried to hospitals in the backs of pickup trucks as first responders struggled to handle the overwhelming destruction. 
  
 Lynn Ostot, the spokeswoman for the city of Joplin, confirmed "some fatalities," but did not have an exact number. 
  
 The Joplin mayor has declared a local disaster, and the Missouri National Guard was activated by Gov. Jay Nixon. 
  
 "These storms have caused extensive damage across Missouri, and they continue to pose significant risk to lives and property," Nixon said in a statement. "As a state, we are deploying every agency and resource available to keep Missouri families safe, search for the missing, provide emergency medical care, and begin to recover." 
  
 Deadly tornado hits Kansas | Storm footage 
  
  
  
 Elsewhere, tornadoes were spotted in Forest Lake, north of the Minneapolis-St. Paul area, and near Harmony, more than 120 miles to the south. And in Minneapolis, witnesses reported numerous downed trees and neighborhoods without power. 
  
 Minneapolis police spokeswoman Sara Dietrich said the storm left one fatality, with 22 people reported hurt. One hospital, North Memorial Medical Center, said it had treated 18 people for minor injuries. 
  
 LeDale Davis, who lives on the north side of Minneapolis, told CNN, "This is the first time we can remember a tornado touched down in this area. They aren't usually in the heart of the city." 
  
 In Anoka County, north of the city, sheriff's dispatcher Linda Hamilton said authorities were receiving reports of roofs blown off, trees down and gas leaks. Hamilton said the worst damage appeared to have been in Fridley, on the northern outskirts of the metro area. 
  
 Curby Rogers said warning sirens sounded near her northwest Minneapolis home Sunday afternoon. Shortly afterward, the light rain that had been falling was whipped into sheets by heavy wind, and power went out. 
  
 "We could hear doors busting open through the house," Rogers said. "There was a lot of commotion, and then it was silent." 
  
 When she and a visiting friend emerged from their house, the streets were blocked by debris and a tree had fallen on her car. Around the corner, the damage was "a million times worse," with some houses split in half. 
  
 CNN meteorologist Chad Myers warned that the storms were not over for the Midwest. 
  
 "You need to have that NOAA radio on tonight everywhere from Wisconsin to Texas and Oklahoma," he said. 
  
 Forecasters said the system that struck Minnesota was separate from another storm that struck eastern Kansas on Saturday, killing one person and damaging or destroying hundreds of homes there. 
  
 CNN's Greg Morrison, Divina Mims, Anna Gonzalez, Stephanie Gallman, Joe Sutton, Jessica Jordan, Ross Levitt, Sarah Aarthun, Don Lemon and Sean Morris contributed to this report. ||||| The death toll from the monster tornado that ripped through Joplin, Mo., has soared to 116, making it the deadliest single tornado in nearly 60 years, according to federal records. 
  
 And, Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon told The Associated Press of the death toll, "Clearly, it's on its way up." 
  
 The lethal Joplin twister has also made 2011 the deadliest year for tornadoes since 1953, with 454 deaths in 1,000 tornadoes so far, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. 
  
 NOAA began keeping records of tornado fatalities in 1950. Before Sunday's storm, the deadliest tornado hit Flint, Mich., on June 8, 1953, also killing 116 people, although independent record keepers have recorded higher death counts in earlier years. 
  
 This past April also set a record as the deadliest month on record with 361 tornado related deaths, according to NOAA's records. 
  
 The Joplin tornado was rated as an EF-4, the second-strongest classification with winds ranging between 166 and 200 mph. The nearly mile-wide funnel touched down at 5:41 p.m. CT Sunday and blasted a six mile wide path through the city and left trapped survivors crying out for help this morning. 
  
 Rescuers shifted through rubble today looking for survivors as high winds and hail continues to plague the area. 
  
 Want to help? Here is a list of organizations. 
  
 As of approximately nightfall Monday, 17 people had been pulled alive from the wreckage, Gov. Nixon said. 
  
 In fact, the storm and its aftermath included amazing stories of survival. 
  
 One man was saved by rescuers after texting his friend his location and the words, "I'm alive." 
  
 "You see pictures of World War II, the devastation and all that with the bombing. That's really what it looked like," Kerry Sachetta, the principal of Joplin High School, which was mangled by the tornado. "I couldn't even make out the side of the building. It was total devastation in my view. I just couldn't believe what I saw." 
  
 Nixon declared a state of emergency Sunday evening and activated the Missouri National Guard in response to the destruction. 
  
 Four people were killed at St. John's Regional Medical Center in Joplin when it took a direct hit from the tornado. Patients and staff have been evacuated as damage suffered during the storm has affected the structural integrity of the building. Every window in the facility was blown out and the top two floors were blown off, ABC News affiliate KMBC reported. 
  
 Hospital spokeswoman Cora Scott told the station that 183 patients were in the hospital at the time and the facility only had five minutes warning that the tornado would strike. More than 100 patients have since been evacuated to other hospitals, Scott said. 
  
 Seven people have been reported dead at a nursing home, according to police reports. 
  
 Kelley Fritz, a 45-year-old resident of Joplin, went out with her family after the storm to survey the damage. "My sons had deceased children in their arms when they came back," said Fritz. "My husband and I went out and saw two or three dead bodies on the ground." 
  
 Authorities estimate 25 to 30 percent of Joplin has been damaged by the tornado, with highly populated areas having been hit by the storm. 
  
 Cries could be heard early this morning from people trapped below the wreckage, while crews have been pulling out bodies and lining them up in the streets for loved ones to identify, according to ABC News affiliate KODE. 
  
 Search and rescue efforts are being hampered by continuing severe weather today, including 40 mph gusts and hail. Strong winds can topple the cranes used to lift wreckage, although current wind speeds are still allowing their use. 
  
 More severe weather, including high winds, rain and hail, is expected Tuesday before the storms finally abate later in the week, according to Accuweather meteorologist Mark Paquette. 
  
 There is also a fear of gas explosions in the storm's aftermath and authorities are telling people not to light any cigarettes because so many gas pipes are broken, causing concern that what's left of Joplin might go up in flames, KODE reported. 
  
 "These storms have caused extensive damage across Missouri, and they continue to pose significant risk to lives and property," Gov. Nixon said. "As a state, we are deploying every agency and resource available to keep Missouri families safe, search for the missing, provide emergency medical care, and begin to recover." 
  
 State and local law enforcement agencies, including fire mutual aid, are coordinating search and rescue and recovery operations. The Missouri State Highway Patrol sent troopers from other regions to help local officers in southern Missouri deal with the destruction, the governor's office said in a statement. 
  
 Keith Stammer, emergency management director for the city of Joplin, told "Good Morning America" that all 25 of the city's sirens did activate, and that there was a 20-minute notice from when the sirens were activated before there was a first report of a tornado strike. 
  
 "At the moment its surreal, our landmarks are gone -- road signs, places where you know to turn -- we're doing search and rescue, going house to house on that six mile strip," Stammer told "GMA." 
  
 Jeff Piotrowsky, a storm chaser who was in Joplin at the time the storm hit and spoke to "GMA" about witnessing the tornado form over the city, said, "We saw a big cloud mass and we knew it was going to start tornadoing. It quickly brewed to a half mile wide, then three-quarters ? then it came to the heart of the city," Piotrowsky said, adding that "there was a warning, about 17 minutes." 
  
 Federal Emergency Management Agency Region VII set up a response coordination center and sent a liaison team to the Missouri state emergency communications center, according to a FEMA official. 
  
 "Basically it's an all-out effort to get all of the most important resources available for this type of situation down as soon as possible," a state emergency management representative said. 
  
 In total, 70 tornadoes were produced by the storm system since Friday, including at least 47 tornadoes Sunday. Tornadoes were reported in seven states from the Canadian border to Oklahoma. Warnings and watches were posted from Texas to Michigan. 
  
 President Obama released a statement on the emergency late Sunday night, saying, "Michelle and I send our deepest condolences to the families of all those who lost their lives in the tornadoes and severe weather that struck Joplin, Missouri as well as communities across the Midwest today. We commend the heroic efforts by those who have responded and who are working to help their friends and neighbors at this very difficult time," Obama said in the statement. 
  
 "At my direction, FEMA is working with the affected areas' state and local officials to support response and recovery efforts, and the federal government stands ready to help our fellow Americans as needed," he added. 
  
 The President is sending FEMA Administrator Craig Fugate to Missouri to ensure that the state has all the support it needs. Today, FEMA Deputy Administrator Rich Serino will also travel to Joplin to survey the destruction in the town and meet with state and local officials. 
  
 Earlier Sunday, tornadoes had torn across other parts of the region, killing at least one person in Minneapolis. |||||
Output:
The latest savage slash of US tornadoes ripped up the Midwest last night, flattening the town of Joplin, Missouri. At least 89 are dead, and that number is expected to rise. "I would say 75% of Joplin is virtually gone," said a spokeswoman for the American Red Cross after a tornado tore a 4-mile swath through the heart of town. Homes and other buildings were crushed, and power lines and trees toppled. "Vehicles were picked up and thrown into houses," said one witness. Medical records and X-rays from the hard-hit Joplin Regional Medical Center were discovered nearly 70 miles away, littering people's driveways, reports CNN. Missouri's governor has declared a state of emergency and activated the National Guard, according to ABC News, and there is fear that broken gas lines could lead to explosions. The tornado was part of a string that descended from a severe weather front extending from Texas close to the Canadian border that also blew off roofs and snapped trees in Minnesota's twin cities and the Wisconsin town of LaCrosse. A Minneapolis man was killed when a tree fell on his minivan, reports Reuters. "We could hear doors busting open through the house," said one homeowner. "There was a lot of commotion, and then it was silent." Last month's death toll from a series of tornadoes in the South stands at 339, the second worst in US history.