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St. John Regional Medical Center took a direct hit from the tornado 

Missouri :  A Powerful tornado has ripped through the south western Missouri town of Joplin killing at least 30 people a local coroner told Reuters news agency by telephone.


The tornado ripped through parts of the Midwest on Sunday where a massive twister flattened a large area of Joplin and heavily damaged a hospital.
"At this point we know we are up into the 30 range," Mark Bridges, Newton County Coroner, said.


St. John Regional Medical Center was evacuating nearly 100 patients after the hospital took a direct hit from the tornado, Cora Scott, a spokeswoman at the hospital's sister facility, said.


The patients were being taken to other hospitals. Witnesses said windows were blown out on the top floors of the hospital.


Jeff Lehr, a reporter for the Joplin Globe, said he was upstairs in his home when the storm hit but was able to make his way to a basement closet


Missouri governor Jay Nixon activated the National Guard and declared a state of emergency. Nixon said the state and local law enforcement agencies were co-ordinating search and rescue and recovery operations.