Severe weather in Iowa: Governor requests disaster declaration, more than 200 homes destroyed

GREENFIELD, Iowa (AP) — One of three powerful tornadoes that ravaged Iowa this week left no property intact along a mile-long path through the small town of Greenfield, Iowa. Iowa, littering the path with the remains of shattered homes, broken vehicles and the shredded trees that once lined the leafy streets.

On either side of this strip, the picturesque homes and lawns appear untouched, and it would be hard to believe that a tornado spinning at more than 136 mph (219 km/h) ravaged the community of 2,000, killing four people and injuring at least 35.

At least 202 households were destroyed by a series of tornadoes that raked the state Tuesday, Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds said in a news conference Thursday. Most were in and around Greenfield. This count does not include businesses or other buildings destroyed or damaged, such as the 25-bed Greenfield hospital.

The devastation caused by the tornado is now visible on the faces of people who are still processing how quickly their homes and lives were destroyed. Kimberly Ergish, who was searching the debris field that sheltered their home with her husband, described how she grabbed her children and ran to the basement when tornado sirens sounded.

“It got really quiet, then really loud, then it all went away,” she said. “It was like 10 seconds of pure terror and it felt like it lasted a lifetime.”

The governor praised FEMA’s response Thursday as it sought a disaster declaration for several counties. After studying Tuesday’s destruction, the National Weather Service determined that three separate powerful tornadoes traced paths totaling 130 miles across Iowa, according to Donna Dubberke, the meteorologist in charge in Des Moines.

It took just a minute for one of them to cut a mile-long path through Greenfield, Dubberke said. The city’s central square and neighborhoods outside the tornado’s path were spared.

Colton Newbury, 24, was working in Des Moines when the tornado struck, nearly 60 miles from his wife and 10-month-old daughter at their home in Greenfield.

He rushed out to find their house was “a hole in the ground,” he said. His wife hadn’t heard the sirens. Newbury’s cousin ran to get his wife and baby, and they survived the tornado in the cousin’s basement, Newbury said. The winds took away entire houses, he said: “Almost all the houses in the neighborhood are left with just the foundations. »

Even more severe weather was moving into the Midwest. The weather service’s Storm Prediction Center shows an increased risk of severe storms late Thursday and Friday morning for much of Nebraska and western Iowa, including areas where tornadoes hit Iowa and Hurricane-force winds, large hail and torrential rain flooded Nebraska’s streets and basements.

This latest round of severe weather – including possible tornadoes – will hit Iowa “when people are asleep,” warned Andrew Ansorge, a meteorologist with the NWS in Des Moines.

“Many of these people have already suffered damage to their homes and belongings that could be affected again by rain and wind. Because of the damage already seen, it won’t take much wind to inflict even more damage on these homes,” Ansorge said. “It’s just a bad deal in every way.”

More severe weather could also hit storm-damaged areas of Texas, Oklahoma and Kansas Saturday and Sunday. A state of emergency was declared in Temple, Texas, after powerful storms ravaged the town of more than 90,000 people. Thousands lost power, Thursday classes were canceled and, near Fort Cavazos, debris blocked traffic at Army installations.

Before Tuesday’s tornado in Greenfield, the deadliest tornado this year was the one that killed three people in Logan County, Ohio, on March 14. Greenfield tornado sets new record by destroying homes And huge crumpled electricity-producing wind turbines out of the city.

The tornado was initially rated at least EF-3, but investigators could judge it even more powerful after a full survey of the terrain.

It was so destructive that it took authorities more than a day to report back to residents in the area, and the Iowa Department of Public Safety said the number of injuries was likely even higher. Authorities have not yet released the names of the Greenfield victims.

A fifth person was killed Tuesday about 25 miles from Greenfield when their car was swept away by a tornado, according to the Adams County Sheriff’s Office. Monica Zamarron, 46, died in the crash Tuesday afternoon, authorities said.

Reynolds requested an expedited presidential disaster declaration for Iowa counties that suffered significant damage. EMA Administrator Deanne Criswell joined him at the news conference in Greenfield and said her agency would process the request as quickly as possible to secure resources — which could include funding for temporary housing – for those who find themselves without housing.

This is a historically busy tornado season in the United States, at a time when climate change increases the severity of storms around the world. April got the country second most tornadoes checked in.

Through Tuesday, 859 tornadoes had been confirmed this year, 27 percent more than the U.S. average, according to the NOAA Storm Prediction Center in Norman, Oklahoma. Iowa has recorded the most tornadoes so far, with 81 confirmed tornadoes.

Debris from the Greenfield tornado was lifted thousands of feet into the air. Some of it was found in several counties. About 90 miles away in Ames, Iowa, Nicole Banner found a yellowed page declaring “This book is the property of the Greenfield Community School District” taped to her garage door.

The 25-bed Greenfield Hospital was so damaged that at least a dozen injured people had to be transported elsewhere, and hospital officials said the facility would remain closed – possibly for months – while repairs are completed. An urgent care clinic has been set up at the elementary school, and primary care services will begin there on Thursday.

Roseann Freeland waited until the last minute to rush with her husband into a concrete room in their basement. Seconds after the tornado passed, they opened the door “and you could just see daylight,” Freeland said. “I just lost it. I completely lost it.

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Beck reported from Omaha, Nebraska. Associated Press writers Steve Karnowski and Trisha Ahmed in Minneapolis; Heather Hollingsworth in Mission, Kansas; and Jim Salter in O’Fallon, Missouri, contributed.