cnn.com- 5/20/13,  Nick Valencia.

Upturned cars were strewn amongst the wreckage of flattened homes, as the BBC's Jon Brain reports

Shawnee, Oklahoma (CNN) -- [Breaking news update at 4:58 p.m. Monday]

Areas of metropolitan Oklahoma City appeared to be in shreds Monday afternoon after a massive tornado moved through the region. "The houses are destroyed. ... Completely leveled," a helicopter pilot for CNN affiliate KFOR said. A school was apparently among the structures leveled by the twister.

[Original story, posted at 4:48 p.m. Monday]

Tornado tears through southern suburbs of Oklahoma City

A tornado struck just south of Oklahoma City on Monday afternoon, ripping apart homes and other buildings in populated areas.