In Joplin, a 'second phase of shock'

>>> good evening. as this country begins to wind down for the long memorial day weekend ahead, joplin in the process of mourning over 130 souls, is just now getting under way. the death toll was adjusted upwards. the missing continues to agonize the living, worrying about a loved one, and adding further insult to injury, it rained and stormed hard today. and remember, shelter is still hard to come by. we want to begin again with nbc's ron allen who is in joplin for us. ron, good evening.

>> reporter: good evening to you, brian. yes, today, the amount of missing and unaccounted for fell to 160. at the same time, the dead rose to above 130. this is the first day of as many tolls that are going to take place in the town, and we begin to learn about some of the people the community lost. they celebrated the loss of adam dwayne darnathy, a joplin technekz who would have turned 28 this week. also services for ray trip miller, 39, a sports enthusiast, and a longtime participant in the special olympics .

>> they scoured the zone of destruction, going over some places for a fifth time.

>> as the days go on, it gets a little tougher, but we're holding strong, and we're still hopeful.

>> finding and identifying the dead has been slow. only 19 identified so far. worried families are not allowed to view the remain. one woman mistakenly identified aival as her son, so the painstaki painstaking system is under way.

>> they go through a very specific process to identify the bodies, using medical records and printings.

>> there's frustration and we see it. rrtd t rrtd.

>> reporter: the mayor sees dauntding problems everywhere. power lines down everywhere, power, spotty, no drinking water, and thousands of jobs lost.

>> as we search and find more mortalities, we may be going 92 a second phase of shot, realizing the number of folks we lost.

>> reporter: despite all the pain, something is happening here that is hard not to notice. american flags all across joplin . they seem to be rising everywhere in the rubble, along with the resolve of the people.

>> we will survive. we're americans, after all. we're missouriens. we're joplinites. we will survive.

>> reporter: state officials say they're bringing in extra staff and working around the clock to speed up the process of identifying victims and notifying families, trying to get them at least some measure of peace. it's going to be a huge weekend, a huge memorial plans and president obama is coming here as well to pay his respects.

>> what incredible spirit after what they have been through. thanks for your coverage from joplin so far this week.