By Adam Allington, KWMU
St. Louis, MO – The death toll in Missouri from the tornadoes and storms that hit the southwest corner of the state Saturday has climbed to 15.
The death toll in Oklahoma has reached six, and at least one person died in Georgia as a result of the storms.
Emergency crews spent Sunday combing through farm fields and piles of debris looking for survivors, but they ended their search Sunday night.
Most of the deaths occurred in rural Newton County, just south of Joplin, Mo.
Governor Matt Blunt declared a state of emergency and dispatched the National Guard to Newton County.
State Emergency Management Agency spokeswoman Susie Stonner said one of the worst tornadoes touched down near the Oklahoma border, and killed people in their homes and in their cars as they tried to escape.
"The highway patrol did a flyover of the area [Sunday] morning, and they estimate the path of the tornado to be a mile wide and 25 miles long," said Stonner.
Hardest hit was the town of Racine, Mo. Stonner said it was unclear how many homes were damaged, but Newton County authorities had initial estimates of 50 homes damaged or destroyed there.
A meteorologist for the National Weather Service said the damage on the ground indicated wind speeds of 131 to 165 miles per hour.