Rescuers are going building to building in search of victims while thousands of survivors are homeless, a day after a massive tornado tore through a suburb of Oklahoma City, wiping out whole blocks of homes and killing at least 24 people.

Nine children were among the dead, including seven who drowned in the basement of a school which took a direct hit in the deadliest tornado to hit the United States in two years.

Emergency workers pulled more than 100 survivors from the rubble of homes, schools and a hospital, and around 237 people were injured.

Nineteen new charges have been laid against independent MP Craig Thomson after he appeared in the Melbourne Magistrates Court today.