The six-block scar: Amazing satellite photos pinpoint devastation of Joplin as it emerges that 232 people are still missing




The Joplin tornado has already killed at least 125 people, now officials say that 232 remain unaccounted for



Following the devastating tornado which ripped though Joplin at the weekend, these satellite images show the extent of the damage.

Before and after aerial photos show the shocking extent of the damage caused by the twister in the Missouri city - this image shows a six-block path of destruction.



Authorities say it's the deadliest single tornado in America since modern record-keeping began over 60 years ago. It's claimed the lives of at least 125 people and reports now say that 232 people are still missing.



Devastation: The satellite image on the left shows where the tornado ripped through Joplin and left the six-block scar across the city - and on the right was the Missouri city as it was before the tragedy

Andrea Spillars, deputy director and general counsel for the Missouri Department of Public Safety, said a list of the 232 names will be released later today. She urged survivors to check in.

Officials said previously they believe people who are unaccounted for aren't necessarily dead or trapped in debris. They say many are probably safe and but failed to tell friends and family where they are. Cell phone service in Joplin remains spotty.

'Our goal is to get that number to zero,' Spillars said of the missing. 'We will dedicate as much state resources as needed around the clock to ensure those family who have loved ones that they cannot find are connected.'

Search-and-rescue teams have made multiple sweeps through the destruction, using dozens of dogs and listening devices in hopes of picking up the faint sound of anyone still alive beneath the collapsed homes and businesses. No new survivors have been pulled from the rubble since Tuesday.



So far 750 people have been taken to hospitals in the area and these images show lucky some people were, and how close they came to having their homes destroyed.

Joplin is reckoned to be the eighth deadliest in U.S. history - The so called Tri-State Tornado which hit Missouri, Illinois and Indiana on March 18, 1925, is believed to be the most deadly. That four-hour twister killed 695 people.

Meanwhile powerful storms roared through middle America again yesterday, with weak tornadoes touching down in isolated spots and severe thunderstorms threatening such strikes in several states.

The National Weather Service issued tornado watches and a series of warnings in a dozen states, stretching northeast from Texas though the Mississippi River valley to Ohio.

Ruins: Where once green land was abundant, now the terrain is pock-marked and brown, as these satellite pictures show

Who will help? This aerial image shows the destruction of the the St John's Regional Medical Centre meanwhile the high school in Joplin was also flattened by the twister

'Everybody's working as fast and furious as possible,' said Beverly Poole, the chief meteorologist at the National Weather Service's office in Kentucky, which covers southeastern Missouri and southern Illinois. 'This is just a wild ride.'



There were no immediate reports of deaths from the new round of storms, though authorities reported dozens of minor injuries following brief tornado touchdowns in Missouri and Indiana.



Yesterday's storms followed a deadly outbreak on Tuesday in Arkansas, Oklahoma and Kansas that killed at least 15 people. The nation's deadliest single tornado since 1950 killed 125 on Sunday in the southwest Missouri city.



Heavy rain, hail and lightning pounded Memphis last night as a tornado warning sounded.



Dangerous: The tornado in Joplin is thought to be the eighth most deadly in American history - at least 125 people have died

Tragic: The houses on the left are shown flattened, whereas the luckier people managed to miss the devastating tornado by mere feet in the image on the left. At least 125 people are thought to have died Joplin because of the twister - and there are reports of more twisters in the area

Menacing clouds showed some rotation, but there were no confirmed reports of tornadoes touching down.



Southern Indiana authorities said at least 12 people were treated for non-life-threatening injuries after a tornado touched down along a highway east of Bedford, flattening homes, barns and other structures in its path.



'The guys on the ground there say it's a predominantly rural area, which is fortunate for the masses but of course not for the people nearby,' said Sergeant Brian Olehy of Indiana State Police.



What's left? Ashley Clark (left) salvages items from a family member's devastated Joplin home while Debra Younger (right) surveys her sons' levelled home

Carnage: Jacob Williams (left) photographs the neighbourhood from what used to be the second story of his aunt's home while volunteers stop to look at debris caused by the tornado as they walk to their Joplin work site

There were also injuries reported when a storm struck a mobile home park west of Bloomington, state police said. Authorities were on their way to the scene but had to clear downed tree limbs and power lines from the roads first.



The Herald-Times reported emergency services in the area were conducting search and rescue operations and that a gas line in the area ruptured.

Earlier in the day, as many as 25 people suffered minor injuries when a tornado damaged several homes and businesses in the central Missouri city of Sedalia. Officials said most were able to get themselves the hospital for treatment.

Disbelief: Resident Wylie Boatright looks through wreckage of the Elks Lodge in Joplin (left) with the damaged St. John's Regional Health Center in the background while on the right an American flag is seen over the rubble of Joplin homes destroyed by the tornado



'Considering the destruction that occurred in Joplin - being that we're in tornado alley and Sedalia has historically been hit by tornadoes in the past - I think people heeded that warning,' Sheriff Kevin Bond said. 'And so, I think that helped tremendously.'



Officials in Sedalia ended the school year several days early because of damage to buses. In one hard-hit neighbourhood, law officers stood on corners and electrical crews worked on power lines as people cleaned debris and sifted through belongings.



One of the heavily damaged homes was the house of Priscilla McCabe, 61, and her 30-year-old son Sean McCabe, who was home when the tornado struck.

Mr McCabe was heading to the basement and says the storm shoved him down the final flight of steps. He had scraps and cuts on his hands, wrists, back and feet. Blood was visible in the house, and much of the roof of the house was gone.



In Illinois, high winds, rain and at least four possible tornadoes knocked down power lines and damaged at least one home and a number of farm buildings across the central and eastern parts of the state.

Dark times: Storm clouds pass over the devastated Greenbriar Nursing Home in Joplin, where 11 residents lost their lives



