Napolitano surveys Joplin damage

Homeland Security head Janet Napolitano visits of tornado-ravaged cityShe says the Obama adminstration won't leave "until the job is finished"FEMA has approved $20 million to assist victims of severe weather

(CNN) -- U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano toured Joplin, Missouri, Thursday and pledged to help residents rebuild the tornado-ravaged city.

"We will not leave until the job is finished," she said in a statement, "and we will continue to support our team of federal, state, local and community partners that are working tirelessly to help the people of Missouri rebuild their communities."

Napolitano toured the areas damaged by the May 22 tornado with Gov. Jay Nixon and Rep. Billy Long. She also met with hospital leadership working in the temporary medical facility set up at St. John's Mercy Hospital.

The secretary also met with state and local leaders and other government officials to discuss plans for recovery efforts.

FEMA has approved $20 million to assist families and individuals, according to a statement released by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.

Authorities are still assessing damage from the tornado, which left much of the city of splinters. Last month the Eqecat catastrophe risk modeling firm estimated the disaster caused up to $3 billion in damage to the city of about 50,000 people.

At least 151 people were killed in the storm, Assistant City Manager Sam Anselm said Thursday. That makes it one of the deadliest twisters since modern record keeping began in 1950.

Napolitano says the Obama administration remains dedicated to helping Joplin and other Missouri communities hit by the storm.

Napolitano isn't the only federal official to visit Joplin after the tornado; President Barack Obama and FEMA Administrator Craig Fugate also visited the city the day after the tornado hit.

CNN's Molly Green contributed to this report.

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Joplin tornado death toll hits 138

Four more people died in the hospital from injuries sustained in the stormThe death toll could continue to rise as more fight for their lives, public safety official saysThe tornado struck the town of 50,000 people May 22

(CNN) -- The number of victims from last month's devastating tornado in Joplin, Missouri, has risen to 138 after four people died as a result of injuries they received during the storm, the Missouri Department of Public Safety announced Thursday.

The ages of the victims range from a 1-year-old boy to a 94-year-old woman.

The death toll could continue to rise, public safety spokesman Seth Bundy said Wednesday.

"We have a lot of critically injured folks that we're hoping and praying they'll pull through, but there could be additional deaths attributed to this storm," he told CNN.

State officials said Wednesday that the number of people missing in the tornado-ravaged city had reached zero after authorities located all unaccounted for individuals or confirmed their deaths.

Residents of the town of 50,000 have been working to pick up the pieces since the tornado, packing winds of 200 mph, tore through their community May 22.

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Joplin twister's death toll rises to 142

NEW: As many as 3,000 volunteers are thought to be helping in JoplinAuthorities say 100 persons remain unaccounted forMissing high school graduate Will Norton is found deadSunday's tornado in Joplin, Missouri, was the single deadliest in U.S. recorded history

(CNN) -- Missouri authorities have identified additional people killed in last weekend's tornado, bringing the toll of the United States' single deadliest twister ever recorded to 142 deaths, authorities said Saturday.

Among the dead was Will Norton, a recent high school graduate who attracted national attention when he disappeared during the storm.

The 18-year-old was driving home from his graduation Sunday when the tornado destroyed the Hummer H3 he and his father were in.

"Mark (Norton's father) said that he reached over and he grabbed Will with both of his arms ... he held on to him until he possibly couldn't anymore and so he's feeling really bad about that because as a dad you don't want to ever let go of your kids. You want to protect them forever. But at least we know that he did absolutely everything he possibly could," said Tracey Presslor, Norton's aunt, through tears.

Norton's body was found Friday by divers in a pond close to where his vehicle had been.

Meanwhile, 100 persons remain unaccounted for, the Missouri Department of Public Safety said in a statement Saturday.

Deputy Director Andrea Spillars acknowledged earlier that families are frustrated that the identification process hasn't proceeded quickly enough the past week.

Authorities are relying on a scientific identification of the remains, and while that process is slower, it's more reliable than a family member's visual identification, she said.

Authorities are using past X-rays, dental records and body markings to help identify bodies, Spillars said.

"We will go through this process as quickly as possible, knowing how important it is to be accurate," she said, joined by law officers and others behind her. "We know that this has been a community that has been tragically impacted by this. All these people behind me have worked 24 hours a day.

Body ID process adds to Joplin's pain

"It's a very scientific process. It's a very exacting process," Spillars continued. "I can tell you that it's a very respectful process, and I can tell you that someone is with that loved one every step of the way."

More than 50 state troopers are working around the clock on the cases, she added.

Many anxious family members have been waiting to hear what became of missing loved ones in Joplin, the flash point of a wicked tornado last Sunday that has produced the highest death toll from a single tornado in the United States since modern recordkeeping began in 1950.

Joplin City Manager Mark Rohr told reporters Saturday that the death toll has reached 142, up from 132 reported a day earlier.

"We're still in search-and-rescue mode," he said, adding that more than 500 search-and-rescue volunteers were in Joplin Saturday working.

As many as 3,000 volunteers are thought to be in the city in total, he said, helping in a variety of ways.

Roving groups of people with tools and equipment were spotted going door to door -- or lot to lot -- asking what they could do.

Volunteers arrived in cars and vans, pickups and trucks -- many with out-of-state license plates. Some painted their vehicles to announce their intentions. Signs read, "Joplin Bound, "From Plano TX to Joplin" and "Free Chainsaw Work."

The number of people missing from the massive tornado has steadily fallen to 100 -- from 156 on Friday and 232 on Thursday, officials said. Included in the 100 still missing are nine people who were reported dead by their families, but for whom official confirmation is underway.

Still, residents have expressed angst over the time-consuming identification process.

"It's frustrating to the families and it's frustrating to me," Newton County Coroner Mark Bridges said this week. "It just takes time to go through those identifiers and get them to the families."

As of Friday morning, more than 2,500 Missourians affected by Sunday's tornadoes have applied for federal assistance to help with home repairs and cover other personal losses, according to the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

The agency reported that more than $2.8 million worth of assistance has already been approved, which is separate from public assistance that the state can receive for emergency response needs and longer-term rebuilding projects like schools, roads and firehouses.

President Barack Obama is expected to tour Joplin on Sunday, meeting with state and local authorities as well as families affected by the devastation. A moment of silence is expected to be observed Sunday too.

CNN's Kara Devlin, Mariano Castillo, Chris Turner and Dugald McConnell contributed to this report.

Click through to see the damage from the deadliest U.S. twister since modern record-keeping began.A security camera records damage from a Kansas tornado. CNN affiliate KTKA-TV in Topeka has more.The warnings seem almost ubiquitous today, but the word "tornado" used to be banned in weather forecasts.Joplin High seniors were wrapping up their graduation ceremony as the devastating storm started to roll in to town.Click through to see the number of tornadoes by year since 1950 and how many deaths resulted from these twisters.Survivors of the Joplin, Missouri, tornado describe their experiences riding out the deadly twister.Hundreds of firefighters, police officers, medics and more head into Joplin, Missouri, to search for survivors.After surviving the deadly storm, residents in Joplin, Missouri, brace for the possibility of more tornadoes.Today's five most popular stories

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Joplin counselor carries on after disaster

Stephen McCullough, a crisis counselor in Joplin, Missouri, shows where a car flew into the side of the building where he lived.Stephen McCullough and his partner lost just about everything in their Joplin apartment"I still think I'm a little in shock. I've had some tearful times," he saidBut he returned to work the day after the city's devastating tornadoHe says it can be tough to listen to others' troubles, but doing so takes his mind off his ownDid you experience the tornado in Joplin, Missouri? Send your photos, videos or stories. And tune in at 8 ET Saturday night for CNN Presents' "A Twister's Fury: In the Path of Destruction." CNN shows you how large parts of Joplin, Missouri, were reduced to rubble in minutes, yet hope remains with amazing stories of survival.

(CNN) -- Stephen McCullough and his partner, Brandon Hembree, lost just about everything in their second-story Joplin apartment, but they're not dwelling on that -- they're just glad to be alive.

"I thought we were going to collapse and end up on the first floor," McCullough said, recounting the few minutes the two of them spent huddled in the corner of their bathroom.

"I still think I'm a little in shock. I've had some tearful times."

It's hard to even fathom how someone could return to work the day after a tornado like this, but particularly for someone with a job like McCullough's: He works as a crisis counselor, helping people cope with disasters.

"[Sometimes it's] a little difficult hearing other stories," McCullough admitted. "But it just feels normal to help other people, and it kind of helps me not focus on everything [at home]."

"But you just go through it, try to breathe and focus on what you can do for them," he said. "You kind of have to compartmentalize things, you know? This [here at home] is different than what I'm having to do at work."

McCullough works at Ozark Center, the area's largest behavioral health care provider, where Debbie Fitzgerald supervises crisis intervention services. She said now that the initial shock is starting to subside, more people are seeking professional help for their mental well-being.

"It's been the toughest four or five days of my entire career," Fitzgerald said, adding that this Wednesday, they saw four times the normal customer volume. "Really, all anyone wants is a happy life, and right now, I don't think there are very many in Joplin."

"Most of them are searching for a loved one or have lost everything."

Difficulty sleeping, an inability to focus or concentrate, and a lack of (or increase) in appetite are all signs that it may be time to meet with a counselor.

"The effects emotionally on even the rescue workers and those still searching are just so overwhelming for everyone, even those of us trying to help them cope," Fitzgerald said.

Case in point: McCullough said that even he wanted the tables turned on him and asked colleagues for a debriefing session of his own.

"It's helpful. It kind of helps me refocus and get back in the game."

Ozark Center's toll-free hotline is 800-247-0661. The center prefers that customers call before visiting, but walk-ins are welcome. The building where the counselors typically work was destroyed in the tornado, so Ozark Center is operating its crisis prevention facility in Freeman Hospital's third-floor patient education room. Counseling services are free.

Click through to see the damage from the deadliest U.S. twister since modern record-keeping began.A security camera records damage from a Kansas tornado. CNN affiliate KTKA-TV in Topeka has more.The warnings seem almost ubiquitous today, but the word "tornado" used to be banned in weather forecasts.Joplin High seniors were wrapping up their graduation ceremony as the devastating storm started to roll in to town.Click through to see the number of tornadoes by year since 1950 and how many deaths resulted from these twisters.Survivors of the Joplin, Missouri, tornado describe their experiences riding out the deadly twister.Hundreds of firefighters, police officers, medics and more head into Joplin, Missouri, to search for survivors.After surviving the deadly storm, residents in Joplin, Missouri, brace for the possibility of more tornadoes.Today's five most popular stories

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Radio stations chug along 24/7 in tornado-devastated Joplin

Skyular Logsdon's family has turned to radio station KZRG to help find the 16-month-old.Desperate residents call the radio stations for vital informationJoplin's six stations have been providing wall-to-wall coverageIt's the only mode of information for many left without electricity or phonesAn Arbitron study found that radio is the top choice during a storm

(CNN) -- A panicked Frank Reynolds dialed the number for KZRG on Tuesday morning. The Joplin, Missouri, radio station was the glue that was holding the tornado-devastated community together.

Reynolds' great-nephew, Skyular Logsdon, only 16 months old, was missing after the deadly tornado struck the family home. Reynolds told the station's talk show hosts that Skyular was born prematurely and was small for his age, weighing only 20 pounds.

"When the tornado hit, we lost track of him," Reynolds said, the urgency apparent in his soft-spoken voice.

He gave his number to the radio station, in hopes that someone would call it.

Reynolds was hardly alone. With so many people still missing and so many homes destroyed after Sunday's tragedy, Joplin residents have been relying on their local radio stations for news and information.

KZRG, part of Zimmer Operations' six radio stations -- two that are news and four, music -- began its wall-to-wall coverage an hour and a half before the tornado twisted through town Sunday. It hasn't stopped.

For the first 24 hours, there was no electricity. Both cell phones and land lines were out, as was Internet service. All that people in Joplin had were battery-powered transistors.

The tornado missed the station building by a few blocks. So Zimmer Programming Manager Chad Elliot's staff cranked up the generators and turned off the music. They even canceled the commercials. All they did was provide vital information to people who had lost everything.

Elliot said it was the first time the stations had stopped all else to provide 24/7 information, though he had learned the power of radio two years ago during a jumbo ice storm.

"We've had this situation before, when radio becomes the only way of communication," he said.

Immediately after Sunday's killer tornado, Elliot said emergency crews drove to the station to provide information for broadcast. The station began telling people where to go for medical help. Or what number to dial for information about the missing. Or where they could buy gas or where there was still a Walmart standing.

Elliot said it reminded him of the family members of the victims of the September 11 attacks who held up photographs of their loved ones in hopes they were not under the rubble. Only, he said, there were no pictures in Joplin -- just trembling voices.

One after another, the calls streamed in.

"We had people calling about family members who went to Walmart to pick up a few items, buy something for Sunday dinner and they just didn't come home," Elliot said.

The radio hosts tried to console and comfort even though they, too, had not been spared from tragedy. Elliot said seven of his 30 employees lost their homes. They still reported to work.

"It's tough," said Audie Renee, a host on the Kix 102.5 country music station, whose second-floor apartment was shredded. "We have an obligation that's very difficult."

Surveys have shown that radio is essential during natural disasters. A 2005 study conducted after a succession of hurricanes along Florida and the Gulf Coast the year before found that radio was the top choice for information during a storm.

"When the lights go out, the radios go on," said Bill Rose, senior vice president of media and marketing for Arbitron, the nationwide radio and TV ratings firm that conducted the study.

"Radio has a personal connection with people in their community," Rose said. "That connection is probably tighter in smaller communities like Joplin."

During the storms in St. Louis last month, radio station KMOX moved its coverage of Cardinals baseball to a sister station so it could provide uninterrupted storm coverage. Arbitron numbers showed its listenership spiked more than fourfold.

In Joplin, Elliot plans to continue continuous emergency coverage until Wednesday morning. But even after the music returns, he said, listeners of his radio stations will find news at the top and bottom of the hour.

This crisis, like all others, will eventually fade, he said. "But right now, there is desperation."

Click through to see the damage from the deadliest U.S. twister since modern record-keeping began.A security camera records damage from a Kansas tornado. CNN affiliate KTKA-TV in Topeka has more.The warnings seem almost ubiquitous today, but the word "tornado" used to be banned in weather forecasts.Joplin High seniors were wrapping up their graduation ceremony as the devastating storm started to roll in to town.Click through to see the number of tornadoes by year since 1950 and how many deaths resulted from these twisters.Survivors of the Joplin, Missouri, tornado describe their experiences riding out the deadly twister.Hundreds of firefighters, police officers, medics and more head into Joplin, Missouri, to search for survivors.After surviving the deadly storm, residents in Joplin, Missouri, brace for the possibility of more tornadoes.Today's five most popular stories

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Lightning, gas leaks, hail don't stop first responders in Joplin

(CNN) -- Struck by lightning, caught up in the smell of gas, braving two-inch hail and relentless rain: None of it could stop hundreds of firefighters, police officers, medical personnel, National Guardsmen and more from heading into the devastation around Joplin, Missouri, in a desperate search for survivors.

Nor could the fact that many of the first responders searched through the rubble of buildings at the same time many of their own homes had been eviscerated. Amidst the struggles, there were victories: 17 people were rescued Monday, city manager Mark Rohr told CNN's Eliot Spitzer.

"They've lost their homes, but they have been out there for 40 hours saving lives," Richard Serino, deputy administrator for the Federal Emergency Management Agency, said from Joplin. "The work they have done ... to say it is to be commended is an understatement."

Not much more than 12 hours after the tornado touched down, Rohr said that between 400 to 500 firefighters, public works personnel and other municipal employees showed up Monday morning, unasked, hoping to help.

The city manager said that the turnout, and the fact many others who have pitched in in other ways, is no surprise in Joplin, a city of 50,050 residents in southwest Missouri.

"Joplin is a city of neighbors helping neighbors," he said. "And with this spirit, we will overcome the hardship."

Yet the continually confounding weather Monday proved a major challenge. Rohr said that two first responders were struck by lightning while looking through debris -- he did not detail the victims' conditions afterward -- with persistent thunderstorms prompting a temporary halt to the searches.

And even by Monday evening, a full day after the twister struck, Rohr said there were "gas leaks all over the city."

"When we drive around, we can smell the gas," the city manager said. "And there are wires down everywhere. You have just got to be careful, as you navigate through the city."

The challenge doesn't appear likely to get any easier Tuesday. The National Weather Service has said there is a 45 percent chance of another tornado outbreak between 4 p.m. and midnight Tuesday over a wide swath that includes cities like Dallas, Oklahoma City and -- yet again -- Joplin.

Those assisting in the rescue effort weren't just from Joplin. Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon noted that some of the more than 1,000 first responders came from Kansas City and other locales. That doesn't include the 110 highway patrolmen and 250 National Guardsmen -- with another 450 on standby -- also on the scene.

Dr. Jim Roscoe told CNN that doctors, nurses and others rushed to help, after the tornado ripped through St. John's Regional Medical Center. Even with often impassible roads and treacherous weather, he said that, "within a matter of hours, we had almost more help than we could put to use."

"I just can't begin to tell you," said Roscoe, who is heading the hospital's triage unit as it treats and redirects patients coming in for help. "We've had people coming from several hundreds of miles away, grabbing their stethoscope and anything they could get, and threw it in their car and came."

Whether treating patients and searching for bodies, those on the frontlines in Joplin also face a significant psychological toll of dealing with devastation that most of them have never seen before. Nixon said they would likely have "very difficult shifts, (because) there are going to see things out there that are hard to see and hard to stomach."

Still, voicing a sentiment echoed by officials and residents in Joplin, the governor said it wouldn't prevent the first responders from heading out again, looking for survivors.

"We are going to cover every foot of this town, and we're going to make sure that every person is accounted for," Nixon said.

Click through to see the damage from the deadliest U.S. twister since modern record-keeping began.A security camera records damage from a Kansas tornado. CNN affiliate KTKA-TV in Topeka has more.The warnings seem almost ubiquitous today, but the word "tornado" used to be banned in weather forecasts.Joplin High seniors were wrapping up their graduation ceremony as the devastating storm started to roll in to town.Click through to see the number of tornadoes by year since 1950 and how many deaths resulted from these twisters.Survivors of the Joplin, Missouri, tornado describe their experiences riding out the deadly twister.Hundreds of firefighters, police officers, medics and more head into Joplin, Missouri, to search for survivors.After surviving the deadly storm, residents in Joplin, Missouri, brace for the possibility of more tornadoes.Today's five most popular stories

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