* Deadliest single tornado in over 60 years with at least 116 people killed
* Meteorologists issue new tornado warning for the ruined city
* Nearly 500 people have now died as a result of tornadoes in the U.S. in 2011
* Residents only had 20 minutes to take cover before monster tornado swept through the heart of the city
* Missouri governor declares state of emergency in city of about 50,000 people
* Emergency workers say thunderstorms are hampering efforts to find survivors as 1,500 rescuers search for missing
* Family and friends of the missing post moving appeals for information on Facebook and blogs
* Storm Prediction Center says more violent weather expected with further tornadoes through the middle of week
Thousands of people were left without homes to go tonight after the deadliest single tornado to strike the United States in over 60 years touched down on Missouri, reducing the city of Joplin to rubble, ripping buildings apart and killing at least 116 people in a 6-mile path of destruction.
Authorities said they had rescued seven people alive on Monday, but emergency warned that the death toll could climb higher as heavy winds, strong rain and hail quarter-sized hail stones hampered the search effort.
Meteorologists issued a new tornado warning for the devastated city as forecasters warned large swathes of the country to brace for more big storms on Tuesday.
Despair: A tree stripped of bark and leaves frames St John's Regional Medical Center
Relief: Maggie Kelley and her husband, Trey Adams hug their dog, Saint, after finding him amid the rubble of her home in Joplin
Map: Infrared image of the powerful tornado that spun through a densely populated part of Missouri
Devastation: Destroyed homes and debris cover the ground as a second storm moves in on Monday in Joplin, Missouri
Eye of the storm: The tornado tore a 6-mile path across southwestern Missouri
Desolation: A residential neighbourhood in Joplin is seen after it was levelled by the tornado
Aftermath: Aerial footage of the destruction in Joplin, Missouri, where a massive tornado tore straight through the city
Heatbreaking: Joplin resident Chue Vang, 50, reacts after coming home to discover that her home was destroyed by the devastating tornado
Widespread devastation: Another tornado in Minneapolis damaged at least 100 homes, toppling hundreds of trees and injuring at least 29 people
Emergency: Extensive damage can be seen at the St John's Regional Medical Center in Joplin, Missouri. An emergency agency spokesman says fatalities had been reported but was unsure of the exact figure
Devastation: Emergency personnel walk through a neighbourhood severely damaged by a tornado near the Joplin hospital. There are are no firm details on the number of dead or injured, as the hospital is out of action
Unbelievable: Destroyed vehicles are piled on top of one another in the parking lot of the Joplin Regional Medical Centre
Levelled: Red Cross representatives say 75% of Joplin is gone - here, vehicles and houses in the vicinity of Twenty-fourth and Main Streets are a jumble of rubble after a the tornado swept through
Nothing remains: Anita Stokes salvages meat from a freezer at her home that was destroyed by a tornado in Joplin
Efforts: Rescue workers in lime-green jackets search for bodies and survivors inside St John's hospital
Soul destroying: Jean Logan surveys the damage to her home in Joplin after the tornado. She had taken refuge in her laundry room with her granddaughter
Homeless: Ted Grabenauer sleeps on his front porch the morning after a tornado ripped off the roof of his home when it hit Joplin, Missouri
Search: An emergency vehicle drives through a severely damaged neighbourhood in Joplin
Ruins: A view of the devastation after a tornado blew the roof off the St John's Regional Medical Center, rear, where about 180 patients cowered and were eventually evacuated
Raised to the ground: Blocks of homes lie in total destruction after the devastating tornado
Clean-up begins: 'There was significant damage caused by large hail, which broke windows and broke tree limbs,' Ms Watson said. The local post office and volunteer fire department were damaged
A total mess: Rachel Hurst picks through her belongings that were strewn about from her garage that was blown away in Minneapolis on Sunday
Path of destruction: No house escaped the wrath of nature in some of Minneapolis
Condolences: President Barack Obama talks on the phone with Missouri Governor Jay Nixon during his visit to Dublin, Ireland. The President extended his condolences to all impacted by the deadly tornadoes
Flattened: Reading - a town of about 250 people, 50 miles south of capital city Topeka
A taste of spring? Trees were stripped of branches and many were left resting against houses
Re-united: A man carries a young girl who was rescued after being trapped with her mother in their home
Community spirit: Residents of Joplin help a woman who survived in her basement after a tornado tore a path a mile wide and four miles long destroying homes and businesses
Desperate: Amy Langford carries items from her house that she was in with her husband Mark when the tornado hit their home in Joplin
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