Photos: Funerals begin for Oklahoma tornado victims as cleanup continues
May 23, 2013
Monty Montgomery walks among rubble as he prepares to clean up a friend's tornado-ravaged home Thursday, May 23, 2013, in Moore, Okla. Cleanup continues three days after a huge tornado roared through the Oklahoma City suburb, flattening a wide swath of homes and businesses. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel) ( APTOPIX Oklahoma Tornado )
Mourners leave a funeral service for Antonia Calendaria, 9, a student at Towers Plaza Elementary school who was killed by Monday's tornado Thursday, May 23, 2013, in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. (AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez) ( Oklahoma Tornado )
MOORE, OK - MAY 23: A man confronts members of the media as mourners leave a memorial service for nine-year-old Antonia Candelaria on May 23, 2013 in Moore, Oklahoma. Candelaria was killed when a two-mile-wide Category 5 tornado touched down May 20 killing at least 24 people and leaving behind extensive damage to homes and businesses. U.S. President Barack Obama promised federal aid to supplement state and local recovery efforts. (Photo by Tom Pennington/Getty Images) ( 169333435 )
Lightning strikes during a thunder storm as tornado survivors search for salvagable stuffs at their devastated home on May 23, 2013, in Moore, Oklahoma. Severe thunderstorms barreled through this Oklahoma City suburb at dawn Thursday, complicating clean-up efforts three days after a powerful tornado killed 24 people and destroyed 2,400 homes. More rain was forecast to fall on Moore, soaking the disaster zone where residents had just the day before, under clear blue skies, started picking through the rubble of their destroyed houses to recover personal effects. JEWEL SAMAD/AFP/Getty Images ( 520002437 )
The clouds of a thunderstorm roll over neighborhoods heavily damaged in a tornado in Moore, Oklahoma, May 23, 2013. REUTERS/Lucas Jackson ( USA-TORNADOES/ )
A stuffed pink unicorn is tangled amid the wreckage of Plaza Towers Elementary, where seven children were killed earlier in the week when a tornado hit Moore, Okla., Thursday, May 23, 2013. The huge tornado roared through the Oklahoma City suburb Monday, flattening entire neighborhoods and destroying the elementary school with a direct blow as children and teachers huddled against winds up to 200 mph. (AP Photo/Brennan Linsley) ( Oklahoma Tornado )
MOORE, OK - MAY 23: Volunteers help a co-worker to salvage belongings from her home after it was destroyed by a tornado May 23, 2013 in Moore, Oklahoma. The two-mile wide EF5 tornado touched down May 20 killing at least 24 people and leaving behind extensive damage to homes and businesses. U.S. President Barack Obama promised federal aid to supplement state and local recovery efforts. (Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images) ( 169331560 )
MOORE, OK - MAY 23: A copy of the Bible on cassette sits alongside debris in front of a home after it was destroyed by a tornado May 23, 2013 in Moore, Oklahoma. The two-mile wide EF5 tornado touched down May 20 killing at least 24 people and leaving behind extensive damage to homes and businesses. U.S. President Barack Obama promised federal aid to supplement state and local recovery efforts. (Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images) ( 169331561 )
MOORE, OK - MAY 23: Supplies from the Salvation Army for tornado victims sit overturned and rain soaked from overnight rains May 23, 2013 in Moore, Oklahoma. The tornado of at least EF4 strength and up to two miles wide touched down May 20 killing at least 24 people and leaving behind extensive damage to homes and businesses. U.S. President Barack Obama promised federal aid to supplement state and local recovery efforts. (Photo by Brett Deering/Getty Images) ( 169329116 )
MOORE, OK - MAY 23: Cassadee Pope (R) helps unload donations at a distribution center setup for the victims at the First Baptist Church May 23, 2013 in Moore, Oklahoma. The tornado of at least EF4 strength and up to two miles wide touched down May 20 killing at least 24 people and leaving behind extensive damage to homes and businesses. U.S. President Barack Obama promised federal aid to supplement state and local recovery efforts. (Photo by Brett Deering/Getty Images) ( 169338116 )
MOORE, OK - MAY 23: Volunteers unload donations for tornado victims at the First Baptist Church May 23, 2013 in Moore, Oklahoma. The tornado of at least EF4 strength and up to two miles wide touched down May 20 killing at least 24 people and leaving behind extensive damage to homes and businesses. U.S. President Barack Obama promised federal aid to supplement state and local recovery efforts. (Photo by Brett Deering/Getty Images) ( 169338118 )
Abigail Stephan, 6, sits on the road waiting for her mother to show her their tornado-destroyed home on 6th Avenue for the first time since the storm in Moore, Oklahoma May 23, 2013. The tornado was the strongest in the United States in nearly two years and cut a path of destruction 17 miles long and 1.3 miles wide. REUTERS/Rick Wilking ( USA-TORNADOES/ )
MOORE, OK - MAY 23: Steve Gerberth takes a phone call from the second story of his destroyed home on May 23, 2013 in Moore, Oklahoma. The tornado of at least EF4 strength and two miles wide touched down May 20 killing at least 24 people and leaving behind extensive damage to homes and businesses. U.S. President Barack Obama promised federal aid to supplement state and local recovery efforts. (Photo by Tom Pennington/Getty Images) ( 169346035 )
MOORE, OK - MAY 23: (L-R) Taylor Trumble helps her neighbor, Moe Vaughan, search through the rubble of his house on May 23, 2013 in Moore, Oklahoma. The two-mile-wide Category 5 tornado touched down May 20 killing at least 24 people and leaving behind extensive damage to homes and businesses. U.S. President Barack Obama promised federal aid to supplement state and local recovery efforts. (Photo by Tom Pennington/Getty Images) ( 169340894 )
MOORE, OK - MAY 23: Family members take a lunch break as they help Fred Martin (not pictured) recover items from his home, which was destroyed by a tornado, on May 23, 2013 in Moore, Oklahoma. A two-mile wide EF5 tornado touched down in Moore May 20 killing at least 24 people and leaving behind extensive damage to homes and businesses. U.S. President Barack Obama promised federal aid to supplement state and local recovery efforts. (Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images) ( 169365388 )
MOORE, OK - MAY 23: Salvation Army Cpt. Jay Spalding hands drinks to Matt Grant and his son Cayden, 8, May 23, 2013 in Moore, Oklahoma. The tornado of at least EF4 strength and up to two miles wide touched down May 20 killing at least 24 people and leaving behind extensive damage to homes and businesses. U.S. President Barack Obama promised federal aid to supplement state and local recovery efforts. (Photo by Brett Deering/Getty Images) ( 169375644 )
MOORE, OK - MAY 23: Salvation Army volunteer Mary Watts checks the load of food ready for distribution to victims of the May 20 tornado May 23, 2013 in Moore, Oklahoma. The tornado of at least EF4 strength and up to two miles wide touched down May 20 killing at least 24 people and leaving behind extensive damage to homes and businesses. U.S. President Barack Obama promised federal aid to supplement state and local recovery efforts. (Photo by Brett Deering/Getty Images) ( 169375641 )
MOORE, OK - MAY 23: U.S. Marines Cpl. Dylan Rhodes (L) of Owasso, Oklahoma, Capt. Ray Penny (C) of Houston, TX and Cpl. Patrick Canales of Los Angeles, California recover a flag flying from a tree in front of the destroyed home of Tim Jones and Chritine Jones May 23, 2013 in Moore, Oklahoma. The flag would hang outside the Jones’ home on national holidays. On Monday May 20 It was hung in a tree outside of the home after the family returned home to find their house had been leveled by a tornado and the flag tangled in the garage rafters. Today, with the help of the Marines, they decided to preserve the flag. A two-mile wide EF5 tornado touched down in Moore May 20 killing at least 24 people and leaving behind extensive damage to homes and businesses. U.S. President Barack Obama promised federal aid to supplement state and local recovery efforts. (Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images) ( 169352780 )
MOORE, OK - MAY 23: Homeowner Tim Jones (2L) and Christine Jones (2R) watch as U.S. Marine Cpl. Dylan Rhodes (L) of Owasso, Oklahoma and Cpl. Patrick Canales of Los Angeles, California fold the family's flag, which had been flying from a tree in front of their home, after it was destroyed by a tornado, May 23, 2013 in Moore, Oklahoma. The flag would hang outside the Jones’ home on national holidays. On Monday May 20 It was hung in a tree outside of the home after the family returned home to find their house had been leveled by a tornado and the flag tangled in the garage rafters. Today, with the help of the Marines, they decided to preserve the flag. A two-mile wide EF5 tornado touched down in Moore May 20 killing at least 24 people and leaving behind extensive damage to homes and businesses. U.S. President Barack Obama promised federal aid to supplement state and local recovery efforts. (Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images) ( 169351869 )
Tornado survivor Arlisha Hall holds her 2-month-old daughter Akai Hall as she along with her husband Wyatt Hall walk back to their home on May 22, 2013 in Moore, Oklahoma. As rescue efforts in Oklahoma wound down, residents turned to the daunting task of rebuilding a US heartland community shattered by a vast tornado that killed at least 24 people. The epic twister, two miles (three kilometers) across, flattened block after block of homes as it struck mid-afternoon on May 20, hurling cars through the air, downing power lines and setting off localized fires in a 45-minute rampage. JEWEL SAMAD/AFP/Getty Images ( 519990853 )
MOORE, OK - MAY 23: An Oklahoma T-shirt hangs in the closet of a home that was destroyed by a tornado, on May 23, 2013 in Moore, Oklahoma. A two-mile wide EF5 tornado touched down in Moore May 20 killing at least 24 people and leaving behind extensive damage to homes and businesses. U.S. President Barack Obama promised federal aid to supplement state and local recovery efforts. (Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images) ( 169365389 )
MOORE, OK - MAY 23: Kyle Gray digs through the remains of his grandmother's destroyed home on May 23, 2013 in Moore, Oklahoma. The two-mile-wide Category 5 tornado touched down May 20 killing at least 24 people and leaving behind extensive damage to homes and businesses. U.S. President Barack Obama promised federal aid to supplement state and local recovery efforts. (Photo by Tom Pennington/Getty Images) ( 169353306 )
MOORE, OK - MAY 23: Kriket Krekemeyer holds the burial flag of her father, who was a career Navy man, after it was recovered from her destroyed home on May 23, 2013 in Moore, Oklahoma. The flag was one of the most important possessions she had hoped to recover from the rubble that was once her home. A two-mile wide EF5 tornado touched down in Moore May 20 killing at least 24 people and leaving behind extensive damage to homes and businesses. U.S. President Barack Obama promised federal aid to supplement state and local recovery efforts. (Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images) ( 169353462 )
MOORE, OK - MAY 23: A homeowner displays a humorous message after his home was destroyed by a tornado, on May 23, 2013 in Moore, Oklahoma. A two-mile wide EF5 tornado touched down in Moore May 20 killing at least 24 people and leaving behind extensive damage to homes and businesses. U.S. President Barack Obama promised federal aid to supplement state and local recovery efforts. (Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images) ( 169353464 )
Brandon Sarrels brings a dog, that his mother found in the rubble of a tornado devastated house, to a pet shelter on May 23, 2013 in Moore, Oklahoma. Monday's tornado in this Oklahoma City suburb damaged or destroyed 1,200 homes and affected 33,000 people, officials said Thursday. Updating figures from one of the worst US tornados in recent years, they said the death toll from the powerful twister -- which struck with little notice in mid-afternoon -- remains at 24, with 377 injured. JEWEL SAMAD/AFP/Getty Images ( 520007465 )
Volunteer Paula McCoart feeds a dog at an animal shelter for tornado-displaced pets on May 23, 2013 in Moore, Oklahoma. Monday's tornado in this Oklahoma City suburb damaged or destroyed 1,200 homes and affected 33,000 people, officials said Thursday. Updating figures from one of the worst US tornados in recent years, they said the death toll from the powerful twister -- which struck with little notice in mid-afternoon -- remains at 24, with 377 injured. JEWEL SAMAD/AFP/Getty Images ( 520007941 )
A tornado-displaced cat and her kittens rest in a cage at an animal shelter on May 23, 2013 in Moore, Oklahoma. Monday's tornado in this Oklahoma City suburb damaged or destroyed 1,200 homes and affected 33,000 people, officials said Thursday. Updating figures from one of the worst US tornados in recent years, they said the death toll from the powerful twister -- which struck with little notice in mid-afternoon -- remains at 24, with 377 injured. JEWEL SAMAD/AFP/Getty Images ( 520008621 )
MOORE, OK - MAY 23: Electrical crews begin to replace power lines after the May 20 tornado May 23, 2013 in Moore, Oklahoma. The tornado of at least EF4 strength and up to two miles wide touched down May 20 killing at least 24 people and leaving behind extensive damage to homes and businesses. U.S. President Barack Obama promised federal aid to supplement state and local recovery efforts. (Photo by Brett Deering/Getty Images) ( 169375648 )
Tracy Stephan, holding her son Timothy, 3, looks at her tornado-destroyed home on 6th Avenue in Moore, Oklahoma May 23, 2013. The tornado was the strongest in the United States in nearly two years and cut a path of destruction 17 miles long and 1.3 miles wide. REUTERS/Rick Wilking ( USA-TORNADOES/ )
This Tuesday, May 21, 2013 aerial photo shows, from foreground to background, the path Monday's deadly tornado took through Moore, Okla. (AP Photo/Kim Johnson Flodin) ( AP10ThingsToSee Oklahoma Tornado )
MOORE, OK - MAY 23: Playground equipment is twisted after a tornado ripped through the area outside of the Plaza Towers Elementary School on May 23, 2013 in Moore, Oklahoma. Seven children died in the school during the tornado. The two-mile-wide Category 5 tornado touched down May 20 killing at least 24 people and leaving behind extensive damage to homes and businesses. U.S. President Barack Obama promised federal aid to supplement state and local recovery efforts. (Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images) ( 169331419 )
Class photos still decorate a classroom wall amid the wreckage of Plaza Towers Elementary School, where seven children were killed earlier in the week when a tornado hit Moore, Okla., Thursday, May 23, 2013. The huge tornado roared through the Oklahoma City suburb Monday, flattening entire neighborhoods and destroying the elementary school with a direct blow as children and teachers huddled against winds up to 200 mph. (AP Photo/Brennan Linsley) ( Oklahoma Tornado )
Plaza Towers elementary school student Kayla Billy leans over a puddle in front of her mother Jennifer Billy (C) and brother Ethan Billy (R) as she departs a ceremonial last day of the school year at the Eastlake Elementary School in Moore, Oklahoma, May 23, 2013. Seven students were killed at Plaza Towers Elementary when a tornado packing winds of 200 miles (320 km) per hour slammed into the building on Monday afternoon just before school was to have let out. The massive tornado obliterated sections of Moore, Oklahoma, leaving 24 dead on May 20. REUTERS/Lucas Jackson ( USA-TORNADOES/ )
Michelle Gonzalez (L), a 3rd grade teacher at the Plaza Towers elementary school, embraces friend Ashley Gentry after being overcome by pain from injuries incurred during the recent tornado as she departs a ceremonial last day of the school year at the Eastlake Elementary School in Moore, Oklahoma, May 23, 2013. Seven students were killed at Plaza Towers Elementary when a tornado packing winds of 200 miles (320 km) per hour slammed into the building on Monday afternoon just before school was to have let out. The massive tornado obliterated sections of Moore, Oklahoma, leaving 24 dead on May 20. REUTERS/Lucas Jackson ( USA-TORNADOES/ )
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