JOPLIN, Mo. — The death toll from Sunday’s tornado climbed to 116 on Monday as first responders continued to pull bodies from a debris field that was three-quarters of a mile wide and six miles long.

Seventeen individuals found buried alive in the debris were rescued, including one at Home Depot, where several bodies have been recovered. The other survivors were found in the debris of residences and other commercial structures that were destroyed.

Seven of the rescued were found before 3 p.m. Monday. The others were found later Monday night as weary first responders pressed on in the dark, struggling against heavy rains and intense lightning.

Authorities said two emergency workers were struck by lightning while trying to assist in the effort on Monday. Details about their injuries were not available Monday night.

In addition to finding survivors, authorities said, it is likely that more bodies will be found and that the death toll will climb higher.

More than 1,150 people with injuries or medical conditions connected to the tornado were treated at hospitals in Joplin and across the Four-State Area.

It was the nation’s deadliest single tornado in nearly 60 years — since a June 1953 tornado in Flint, Mich., killed 116 people — and the second major tornado disaster in less than a month. Unlike the multiple storms that killed more than 300 people last month across the South, Joplin was smashed by just one exceptionally powerful twister.

The tornado also ranks as the deadliest to hit Missouri in more than a century. The federal Storm Prediction Center says the worst tornado in Missouri’s history hit St. Louis on May 27, 1896, leaving an estimated 255 people dead.

Mayor Mike Woolston urged sightseers to stay away from Joplin.

“I fear someone will die because gawkers are getting in the way of our first responders,” he said. “If you don’t live here, stay away.”

City Manager Mark Rohr, in a news conference Monday, confirmed that police were investigating some incidents of looting. Standing by his side, Gov. Jay Nixon said every effort would be made “to make sure every piece of property is protected” and that “the rule of law is maintained.”

Nixon declared a state of emergency on Sunday, dispatching 110 state troopers and 250 members of the National Guard to Joplin. Standing by are 450 troops.

Emergency personnel had made three sweeps of the debris field by Monday afternoon. Nixon said: “We’ll cover every foot of this town.”

Rohr said more than 40 emergency response agencies have sent assistance to Joplin, including an estimated 450 people.

The governor said he spoke Monday morning with President Barack Obama, who pledged his support. In his blog, the president, who was in London on Monday, stated: “The federal government stands ready to help our fellow Americans as needed.” He called on Nixon to express his condolences.

As thunder reverberated Monday afternoon through the National Guard Armory in Joplin, Nixon said this will be one of those moments in Missouri’s history that demonstrates “the strength of character that Missouri is famous for. We will rebuild this city.”

Rod Chappel, coroner of Jasper County, said a portable morgue from Texas was expected to arrive in Joplin by midnight Monday. A temporary morgue, the location of which has not been disclosed, is holding 112 bodies, he said. Of those, there are about “30 Jane and John Does,” he said.

The morgue will be manned by people who will use “visuals, DNA, dental records and X-rays to identify the deceased,” Chappel said. “We will compare what we find in the forensics with what we get from family members to individually ID the bodies.”

The process will take four to five hours for each body. The next of kin will be notified. The bodies then will be released to mortuaries.



MISSING-PERSON HOT LINE

Those who have filed missing-person reports will meet with family counselors and fill out a worksheet to help identify the deceased. The missing-person hot line number is 659-5464.

“We know we are bringing more bodies to the morgue,” Chappel said. “They are still digging them out.”

The tornado tore a path through the middle of Joplin. Much of the city’s south side was leveled, with churches, nursing homes, schools, businesses and homes reduced to ruins by winds approaching 200 mph.

St. John’s Regional Medical Center took a devastating hit. Reports varied Monday from four to six as to the number of patients who were killed in the building. The Associated Press was reporting that authorities said at least six people — five patients and a visitor — were killed at St. John’s.

The nine-story building was evacuated immediately after the tornado struck because of structural damage.

Gary Pulsipher, president of the medical center, said Monday that 183 patients in the 367-bed hospital were evacuated and transferred to other hospitals. The number does not include those who were being treated in the hospital’s emergency room when the tornado struck. He said hospital officials were still trying to determine Monday where some of those patients went.

Several Freeman Health System buildings were damaged. Freeman Hospital West saw significant damage to a portion of its roof, rendering 10 patient rooms unusable. Ozark Center’s administration building was destroyed and two of its residential care operations were damaged, a hospital spokeswoman said.

Freeman’s staff got some helping hands Sunday night after the tornado struck. Nearly 100 non-Freeman employees, including several from St. John’s, volunteered their services. Freeman continued Monday to accept only patients with critical injuries.



JOPLIN SCHOOLS

C.J. Huff, superintendent of Joplin’s public schools, on Monday estimated that the structural damage at Joplin High School, Irving Elementary, Franklin Technology Center, Cecil Floyd Elementary and East Middle School will exceed $100 million. He said the district’s schools are insured. He said the district will be ready for the opening of school this fall.

Missouri American Water Co. battled low pressure throughout its system in the aftermath of the storm. A boil order was issued as a precautionary measure, said Christie Barnhart, spokeswoman for the utility.

That boil order remained in effect Monday night.

Barnhart said the company’s water plant sustained damage from the tornado, but added: “Fortunately, it was not to the treatment part of the plant.”

Broken water lines are causing the low pressure. “The system is in essence bleeding,” she said.

“We have been able to raise the pressure coming out of the plant, which is a very good sign,” she said Monday night. “Our priority today was to get the pressure up at Freeman.”



WATER TANKER

The company Monday night was sending a tanker truck with drinking water to the lot at Memorial Hall. Barnhart said residents would be able to obtain water there around the clock. She said they would need to bring their own containers.

Officials with Empire District Electric Co. reported that up to 20,000 customers were without electrical power at the peak of the outage. The substation at 26th Street and Pearl Avenue was destroyed. The number of affected customers was down to 14,000 as of 7 p.m. Monday, said Emily Stanley, spokeswoman for the utility.

She said crews from other utilities in the Midwest were en route to help.



EF-4 TORNADO

Doug Cramer, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service station at Springfield, said a preliminary survey of the debris field indicates that Joplin was hit by a right-turning, EF-4 tornado with wind speeds estimated at 190 to 198 mph.

Cramer cautioned that the findings from Monday’s survey were preliminary and could be revised. For the tornado to be classified as an EF-5, the most powerful tornado, a minimum wind speed of 201 mph must be verified by the survey team.

The Storm Prediction Center in Norman, Okla., on Monday said it expects severe weather to continue today in the Midwest. A classic Plains tornadic outbreak appears to be evolving across the central and southern Plains, the center said. An upgrade to a high-risk warning might be issued today.

The area of greatest concern includes western Missouri, eastern Kansas and eastern Oklahoma.



GLOBE STAFF MEMBERS Andy Ostmeyer and Emily Younker, and The Associated Press contributed to this report.