Oklahoma Governor Mary Fallin has declared 16 counties disaster areas after massive storms ripped through the state Sunday and Monday.

The death toll reached 37 around 7pm Monday night and local officials say to expect that number to continue to rise throughout the night.

Moore, Oklahoma, which in 1999 had a tornado crush the town with winds that were at the time the largest ever recorded near the ground, bore the brunt of the two mile wide tornado.

A spokeswoman for Norman Regional Hospital said that the Moore hospital was basically destroyed after taking a direct hit.

“The second floor is basically gone,” the spokeswoman told KOCO-TV.

The Oklahoma National Guard has been dispatched to the area to help with search and rescue operations.  The troops will also establish a perimeter around the most devastated neighborhoods.

President Obama gave Governor Fallin a direct line to his office and said that the full resources of the national government are available to the state.

Tens of thousands throughout the state are without electricity as night begins to fall on the state.

The National Weather Service has initially said the tornado was an EF-4 tornado but a meteorologist with KOCO-TV said his radar showed winds that would classify the storm as an EF-5, the highest on the scale.

Debris from Moore was reported to be falling in Tulsa, 90 miles away.