More details of yesterday's tornado in Joplin, Missouri, have emerged after a press conference there early this morning. Officials said that 89 people are confirmed dead, and a Fire Department spokesman told reporters that the tornado had "cut the city in half." The path of the tornado was a mile wide and six miles long, and it destroyed much of the St. John's Regional Medical Center.

A Red Cross worker told CNN that an estimated 75 percent of Joplin was destroyed, while debris was found 70 miles away. Last night, Missouri Governor Jay Nixon declared a state of emergency. The death toll is expected to climb even higher.

[Images via AP]