Rescuers pored over demolished neighborhoods Tuesday as this battered area began to regroup and assess the carnage a day after a massive and deadly tornado tore through towns just south of Oklahoma City, killing dozens, injuring hundreds and obliterating structures in its path.

At least 24 people died, nine of them children, according to a spokeswoman for the Oklahoma Department of Emergency Management. The death toll, which had originally been reported at 51, was revised because victims were initially double counted, the spokeswoman said. More than 230 people were injured by the storm, officials said. One hospital, University of Oklahoma Medical Center, said it received 45 children.

Meanwhile, heavy equipment and bulldozers arrived by the dozens to clear debris-strewn streets. Disaster relief workers walked neighborhoods, asking dazed people what they needed.

The bad weather continued Tuesday, with lightning and hail delaying rescue efforts and turning the skies a bleak gray that mirrored the collective mood.

'It's been a very heartbreaking experience, especially the loss of children,' said Gov. Mary Fallin, who flew over the devastated community Tuesday, and said the destruction and downed street signs had rendered some areas unidentifiable.

One Moore resident, Robert Centers, couldn't find his street as he drove through his Moore neighborhood, which had been squashed to mostly rubble. Some houses simply vanished, but most were flattened, leaving empty plots dotted with mangled cars and littered with piles of wood and brick. Whole tree trunks were sucked from the earth exposing their long, twisted roots.

Some lots had tents set up and neighbors were picking through the detritus to find photos and family mementos.

'I think this is my street,' said Mr. Centers, a retired purchasing agent for Tinker Air Force Base, who turned 59 on Monday. He shares a birthday with his wife Judy, who turned 63. The Centers were luckier than many of their neighbors.

The fierce winds battered their compact brick house, smashing some windows, but it was still standing. Although authorities have told them they may not have power or water for a month, they plan to stay regardless. 'This is all I have,' said Mr. Centers, who lost a house in another tornado. 'I have no plan B.'

The Department of Emergency Management said at least three tornadoes touched down Monday in Oklahoma, including in Oklahoma City, Moore and Duncan, but Moore took the hardest hit. The National Weather Service Tuesday afternoon rated the tornado that tore through Moore as an EF-5 with winds in excess of 200 mph. It stretched about 17 miles long and 1.3 miles wide, remaining on the ground for about 40 minutes, the agency said.

Moore, a city of 56,000 on the outskirts of Oklahoma City, has an infamous history of being battered by twisters, having been struck by significant tornadoes three times--including Monday-- since 1999, according to the National Weather Service.

Property-casualty insurance companies are expected to face at least a couple billion dollars of insured losses from the Moore tornado, according to rough calculations by Wall Street analysts, based on damages from other major tornadoes in recent years, including tornadoes in Joplin, Mo., and Tuscaloosa, Ala., in 2011.