Briarwood, Plaza Towers Elementary Schools Hit By Tornado In Moore, Oklahoma, Rescue Efforts Underway

Elementary Schools Hit By Oklahoma Tornado

Two elementary schools were directly impacted by a massive tornado in the Oklahoma City area on Monday, according to local media reports.

Plaza Towers Elementary School was flattened by the storm and Briarwood Elementary School was also reportedly severely hit. It is unclear at this time how many people were at the schools when the damage occurred, but search and rescue efforts are underway.

"Apparently some kids were being sheltered there [at Plaza Towers]," local TV station KFOR reported during its live coverage of the tornado. The local news outlet later confirmed that children were being pulled from debris at the Plaza Towers site.

According to News 9, an Oklahoma City Police Department representative has stated that there are currently no reports of injuries at the Briarwood Elementary scene. The school did, however, suffer "extensive damage."

UPDATE #3: KFOR is reporting that there were no fatalities at Briarwood Elementary and all students are accounted for.

UPDATE #2: An representative for Oklahoma Emergency Services confirmed in a press conference Monday night that there were casualties at the Plaza Towers Elementary School.

UPDATE: The AP is reporting that several children have been pulled out of the rubble alive at Plaza Towers Elementary School.

More from earlier:

Plaza Towers is located on the west side of Moore, just south of Oklahoma City. Briarwood Elementary is not far away, also on the same side of the town.

A local affiliate in Denver shared a photo of one of the impacted schools on Twitter:

This is a developing story. Scroll down for updates.

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