Consequences of a tornado that exploded in a suburb of Oklahoma City

The Oklahoman, Chris Landsberger / AP Photo

Penny Phillips throws out a bag of salvaged clothing as she goes through the remains of her home on Tuesday, May 21, 2013 in Moore, Okla. that was destroyed by Monday's tornado in the area near 4th and Bryant.

The tornado that tore through an Oklahoma City suburb destroyed or damaged as many as 13,000 homes and may have caused $2 billion in overall damage, officials said Wednesday.

State authorities meanwhile said two infants were among the 24 people who perished in the twister.

Oklahoma Insurance Department spokeswoman Calley Herth told The Associated Press that the early monetary damage tally is based on visual assessments of the extensive disaster zone that stretches more than 17 miles and the fact that Monday's tornado was on the ground for 40 minutes.

The financial cost of the tornado in Moore could be greater than the $2 billion in damage from the 2011 tornado that killed 161 people in Joplin, Mo., Herth said, adding that the Joplin twister left a smaller trail of destruction.

For the first time Wednesday, authorities provided a clearer accounting of the destruction.

Between 12,000 and 13,000 homes were destroyed or damaged and 33,000 people were affected in some way by the storm, said Oklahoma City Mayor Mick Cornett,

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