Tornado in Iowa in the US kills ‘several’ people and damages homes

Iowa:

A series of devastating tornadoes ravaged western Iowa on Tuesday, resulting in multiple fatalities and widespread destruction in several communities, as severe storms continued to batter the Midwest, CNN reported.

In the small town of Greenfield, Iowa, located about 50 miles southwest of Des Moines, a destructive storm unleashed a tornado shortly before 5 p.m., causing extensive damage to numerous homes and buildings, said Sergeant Alex Dinkla, spokesman for the Iowa State Patrol .

“We can confirm that there were multiple fatalities from this tornado,” he told a news conference, but gave no further details about the casualties.

Greenfield residents were also injured and a local hospital suffered tornado damage, prompting patient transfers to nearby medical facilities, Sergeant Dinkla confirmed, according to CNN.

Footage captured by CNN affiliate KCCI showed the trail of destruction left by the tornado in Greenfield, with homes decimated, structures flattened, piles of rubble, damaged vehicles and scores of uprooted trees.

“There’s basically nothing left,” noted Clel Baudler, a former Iowa state representative who lived a half-mile from Greenfield, highlighting the tornado’s devastating impact.

Tragically, another storm-related fatality occurred in Adams County, Iowa, approximately 90 miles southwest of Des Moines, as confirmed by Medical Examiner Lisa Brown. Although Brown could not provide additional details about the incident, she attributed the death to a tornado.

The powerful line of thunderstorms that moved through the region on Tuesday led to a rare “potentially hazardous situation” tornado watch for parts of Iowa, Minnesota, Wisconsin and Illinois, according to the Storm Prediction Center. This special tornado watch is only issued when there is high confidence in the possibility of multiple long-lived and EF2 or stronger tornadoes.

In response to the storm outbreak, Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds has authorized the declaration of a state of emergency for 15 counties, allowing state resources to be deployed to assist with response and recovery efforts. Governor Reynolds announced her intention to visit Greenfield Wednesday morning to assess the damage firsthand, and pledged to provide the state’s full support.

More than 30,000 customers were without power in Iowa late Tuesday evening, according to Poweroutage.us.

Tuesday’s intense thunderstorms also brought other serious hazards, including devastating hurricane-force winds of up to 90 miles per hour and softball-sized hail. More than 25 million people in the region were at a level 3 of 5 or level 4 of 5 risk for severe thunderstorms, according to the SPC.

The greatest concern for widespread, dangerous impacts centered on much of Iowa, northwestern Illinois, southwestern Wisconsin and northern Missouri. Major population centers such as Chicago and Milwaukee were also at risk of damaging storms.

Des Moines International Airport was temporarily closed late Tuesday afternoon as dangerous storms approached the area, prompting tornado warnings. Emergency management officials in Montgomery County, Iowa, confirmed the occurrence of “multiple tornadoes” in the county, although no injuries were reported at the time. Damage assessments were underway, with officials working to clear roads to access affected properties, as reported by CNN.

In addition to tornadoes, flash flooding from heavy rainfall posed a threat to parts of Iowa, Minnesota, Wisconsin and Nebraska, where flooding and tornadoes were in effect. Rainfall totals of 1 to 3 inches were possible, with up to 5 inches expected in some areas.

Severe storms were forecast to peak in the Midwest through Tuesday night, with more severe thunderstorms expected Wednesday across a 1,500-mile area from Texas to western New York. The possibility of damaging winds, hail and some tornadoes remained as the region braced for further impacts.

The recent bout of severe weather in the United States, including the devastating storm in Houston last Thursday, underscored the urgent need for preparedness and resilience in the face of unpredictable natural disasters, CNN reported.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)