Tom Patterson searches through the rubble of what used to be his two storey home in tornado ravaged Joplin, Missouri on Tuesday, May 24. He and his wife, Cindy, survived by taking shelter under a table in the basement. Rescuers combed through overturned cars and flattened buildings hunting for survivors after this Missouri town was struck by one of the strongest tornadoes ever recorded in the US. A massive mile-wide funnel-cloud, with winds of up to 200 miles (320 kilometers) an hour, tore with devastating force through the town of Joplin late Sunday, leaving 116 people dead and hundreds more missing. AFP PHOTO / Mira OBERMAN