The death toll from the massive tornado that devastated Joplin, Missouri, reached 132 Friday, a city spokeswoman said, while the state worked to pare down the list of people missing and unaccounted for since the storm, according to AP. Joplin city spokeswoman Lynn Onstot confirmed the new death toll to The Associated Press shortly before state officials announced that the missing list had been trimmed to 156 people. Officials were working around the clock to account for everyone on the list, Missouri Department of Public Safety deputy director Andrea Spillars told a morning news conference. Spillars said at least 90 people on the original list had been located alive. But at least six were identified as among the dead, and some new names had been added to the scroll of the missing. Authorities had said they believed many of the missing were alive and safe but simply hadn't been in touch with friends and family, in part because cell phone service has been spotty. But they also cautioned that they believed some of those originally listed may have been killed in the storm. Search and rescue crews remained undeterred, with 600 volunteers and 50 dog teams out again. Friday. All of the numbers describing Sunday's storm are nothing short of numbing. The tornado _ an EF5 monster packing 200 mph (320 kph) winds _ was the country's deadliest single twister in more than six decades. More than 900 people were injured.
