Severe weather warnings have been issued for seven states across the US mid-west, after a tornado devastated the town of Greensburg in southwestern Kansas on Friday.
Nine people were killed and over 60 wounded in the storm which appeared to be at least a kilometre in diameter.
Some 30 people were pulled from the rubble of Kiowa County Memorial Hospital in Greensburg Saturday as the storm ripped homes off their foundations and even damaged below-ground shelters.
Over 90% of local homes and buildings were destroyed in Greensburg, about 200km west of Wichita, and communications in the area were severely disrupted.
Senator Pat Roberts, who toured the area yesterday claimed it was 'no understatement to say that this town has been wiped off the map'.
The US National Weather Service has warned of more severe weather in the central plains region, and two new tornadoes were reported further north in Nebraska.
Meteorologists are warning of 'an extremely dangerous and life-threatening situation' due to the threat of severe tornadoes over a huge swathe of land touching seven states from northern Texas to South Dakota, an region that has become known as 'Tornado Alley'.
