Storm-hit city 'was let down'

The devastated US city of Moore had a plan to help residents build storm shelters but it was put "on hold" as local authorities battled for scarce federal dollars and tried to deal with a maze of regulations .

Three months before the tornadoes that killed dozens across Oklahoma and levelled Moore, city officials released a statement explaining why residents could still not apply for money to build safe rooms.

The city said regulations put in place by the Federal Emergency Management Agency were a "constantly moving target", which changed during their application process, slowing down progress.

Besides the federal regulations, authorities said funds for storm shelter programmes were scarce because of a lack of federal government disaster declarations .

"Oklahoma has had few of these declarations in the past couple of years, so there is not a lot of grant money available," the February statement read.

Moore had intended to apply for $2-million in grants, enough to offer a $2500 subsidy for 800 storm shelters, so families would "have a place to seek refuge from severe weather".

Few homes in Oklahoma have basements, leaving many families dependent on specially built "safe rooms" for shelter during a tornado.

In May last year, the city had hoped to receive approval from the federal emergency management agency by the end of the year.

Instead, the process continued to drag on. In February, the city released a statement partly blaming changes to the agency's regulations for the delay.

"The city's safe room rebate programme is still 'on hold', with not a lot changed from our update of last May," the city said.

"We've found that the [agency's] requirements and their interpretations seem to be a constantly moving target."

The agency did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

On Monday afternoon, winds of up to 320km/h tore through Oklahoma City and its suburbs, flattening homes, throwing cars into the air and crushing at least two schools.

Rescue workers toiled through the night, lifting bricks and parts of collapsed walls.

They walked through neighbourhoods to see if they could hear any voices calling out from the rubble.

Families anxiously waited at nearby churches for news of their loved ones . A man with a megaphone called out the names of surviving children.

Moore, home to 55000 people, was the hardest hit. The Plaza Towers Primary School, with 75 children sheltering inside, was destroyed.

Officials said that the death toll was likely to climb. Hospitals reported that at least 145 people, 70 of them children, were injured.

"Numerous neighbourhoods were completely levelled," said Sergeant Gary Knight of the Oklahoma City Police Department. "Neighbourhoods just wiped clean."

Elsewhere, reports said among those killed was a family of four that tried to take shelter in a freezer. Another seven drowned in a pond. Oklahoma police told Fox News that at least four people were killed at a convenience store.