The death toll from a monster tornado that hit Joplin, Missouri on Sunday, the deadliest in the U.S. since 1947, rose to 123 while at least 750 people were injured and many more were missing.

The tornado that hit Joplin with winds of nearly 200 miles per hour (328 km/hour) was the deadliest single twister in the United States since 1947, when a tornado in Woodland, Oklahoma killed 181 people.

Shortly after the tornado hit on 5:41 p.m. on May 22, Governor Jay Nixon declared a state of emergency in the Joplin area. Emergency responders and the Missouri National Guard quickly conducted search and rescue efforts.

Rescue and recovery teams scoured the wreckage of the small Midwestern city, which was devastated by a high-velocity whirl of wind that destroyed about 2,000 buildings.

Storm