Rescue teams have been desperately searching for nearly 1 500 people listed as missing since a tornado ripped through Joplin in the US.

The death toll from a monster tornado that hit Joplin, Missouri, on Sunday rose to 123 with 750 people injured and many more missing.

Rescue crews clawed through the rubble overnight searching for survivors on Tuesday after a tornado in Missouri killed 116 people.

A massive tornado that swept through the Missouri town of Joplin has killed at least 89 people, a senior local official announced on Monday.