Missouri officials continue identifying tornado dead

Missouri officials trying to identify the victims from the devastating Joplin tornado said on Sunday they had reduced the number of missing people to 29.

With the official death toll at 139 since Saturday, the Missouri department of public safety said Monday that 101 victims had been positively identified and their relatives had been notified. That figure was up from 87 on Sunday.

Officials on Monday said 29 people remain unaccounted for, down from 43 Sunday.

Officials had reported 146 sets of human remains from the tornado, a number unchanged since Sunday. There is a chance the remains of one person are in more than one set, they have said.

Of the 101 who have been identified, 11 were under the age of 18.

The tornado that hit May 22 was rated an EF-5, or the strongest possible, and was the deadliest single twister in the United States since 1947.

President Barack Obama visited Joplin on Sunday, vowing to cut through federal red tape to help with rebuild it.

Some families have expressed frustration at the slow pace of identifying the victims and releasing the remains.

Families have not been allowed to enter the morgue to view and identify the remains.

Authorities have defended that policy as necessary to be sure that no mistakes are made.

Up to 5,000 residents have registered with the Federal Emergency Management Agency for disaster aid, said Joplin City manager Mark Rohr.

Rohr said about 3,000 volunteers are helping with the disaster clean-up effort. Much of the work is centered on clearing debris, such as cutting up felled trees and piling up damaged items from people's homes.