Cedar Rapids telethon today to aid in Oklahoma tornado recovery

KCRG-TV9 and WMT Radio are hosting a telethon Wednesday night from 5 to 7 p.m. to help the victims of the Oklahoma tornadoes.

The event is called "Help Moore," and the proceeds will benefit the American Red Cross Disaster Fund. WMT's Bob Bruce Radio Experience will broadcast live from the TV9 studios.

Red Cross volunteers along with KCRG-TV9 and WMT staff will be helping with the telethon.

Rescue workers with sniffer dogs and searchlights picked through the wreckage of the massive tornado to ensure no survivors remained buried in the rubble of primary schools, houses and buildings in Moore, Okla.

The massive tornado on Monday afternoon flattened entire blocks of the town, killed at least 24 people and injured about 240.

But as dawn approached on Wednesday, officials were increasingly confident that everyone caught in the disaster had been accounted for, despite initial fears that the twister had claimed the lives of more than 90 people.

Jerry Lojka, spokesman for Oklahoma Emergency Management, said search-and-rescue dog teams would search for anybody trapped under the rubble, but that attention would also be focused on a huge cleanup job.

"They will continue the searches of areas to be sure nothing is overlooked," he said. "There's going to be more of a transition to recovery."

More than 1,000 people had already registered for assistance from the Federal Emergency Management Agency, or FEMA, which sent hundreds of workers to Oklahoma to help with the recovery.

Reuters contributed to this story.