Numerous tornado fatalities occur in Iowa as the Midwest is once again devastated by strong storms
Greenfield, Iowa A tornado ripped
through Greenfield, leaving behind a broad swath of destroyed homes, crumpled
cars, and splintered trees. The storm also caused enormous wind turbines
outside the little town to break and twist to the ground, killing multiple
people.
Following the devastation of the 2,000-person hamlet, the storms proceeded
eastward and severely damaged areas of Wisconsin and Illinois, causing power
outages for over 130,000 consumers in both states.
At least a dozen injured persons had
to be transported to different hospitals since Greenfield's hospital was one of
the damaged structures in the town, according to Iowa State Patrol Sgt. Alex
Dinkla.
Dinkla stated at a news conference on Tuesday night, "Sadly, we can
confirm that there have been fatalities," without mentioning the number.
"We're still counting at this time."
He declared that although he believed they had located every resident of the
town, searches will go on in case anyone was reported missing. In a Tuesday
night Facebook post, the Adair County Health System announced that it had
established a triage center at the Greenfield high school and advised anyone in
need of medical assistance to go there.
About 55 miles (90 kilometers)
southwest of Des Moines, Greenfield was mostly devastated by the tornado on a
day that saw numerous tornadoes, enormous hail, and torrential rain in several
states.
The town's strict curfew was declared by the authorities, who also stated that
locals would only be permitted to enter Greenfield until Wednesday morning. On
Tuesday night, they also gave media representatives the order to depart the
city.
Following the hurricane, lots where residences formerly
stood were filled with piles of broken wood from dwellings, branches, auto
parts, and other debris. The remaining trees had lost all of their foliage and
limbs. Residents threw furniture and other items in every direction and helped
each other save what they could.
According to Rogue Paxton, he sought safety in his home's basement during the
storm. He remarked to WOI-TV that his family was fortunate even though he
believed the house was lost.
"But everyone else is not so
much, like my brother Cody, his house just got wiped," Paxton continued.
"Then you notice that everyone is here supporting one another. It will be
extremely difficult, but because we have each other, everything will work out.
It is disorganized."
Numerous tornadoes were recorded across the state, and one of them even
appeared to topple multiple 76-meter (or 250-foot) wind turbines in southwest
Iowa. Smoke plumes rose into the air as a few of the turbines caught fire.
Tornadoes, hurricanes, and other
strong winds are designed to be withstanding by wind farms. The U.S. Department
of Energy states that turbines are made to cut off when winds reach specific
speeds, usually 55 mph (89 kph). To lessen the pressure, they also turn toward
the wind and lock and feather their blades.
On its website, Greenfield presents itself as the "ideal place to
grow" and a "friendly wave as you walk" neighborhood with
tree-lined streets before the storm.
Long's Market, located in downtown
Greenfield, was mostly spared damage during the hurricane, according to Mary
Long, the owner of the establishment. According to Long, there seemed to be
extensive damage on the town's east and south sides.
"I could hear this roaring, like the proverbial freight train, and then it
was just done," she continued.
Before the storm, according to Camille Blair, the Greenfield Chamber of
Commerce office where she works closed at around two p.m.
Regarding the tornado, she remarked, "I can see from my house it kind of
went in a straight line down the road."
Governor Kim Reynolds announced that
she would be stopping by Greenfield early on Wednesday.
"It was just a few weeks ago that tornadoes hit several other Iowa
communities, and it's hard to believe that it's happened again," she said
in a press release. "Iowans are strong and resilient, and we will get
through this together."
A tornado was seen in southwest Iowa, just northwest of Red Oak, according to
footage shared on social media. The National Weather Service issued numerous
tornado warnings for areas around the towns of Guthrie Center, Fontanelle,
Griswold, and Corning, among other towns, farther to the east and north.
The Storm Prediction Center of the
National Weather Service warned that there was a high probability of severe
thunderstorms with powerful tornadoes throughout the majority of the state,
thus Iowans were prepared for severe weather. The public schools in Des Moines
canceled evening programs and concluded classes two hours early.
Tuesday night and into Wednesday morning, Wisconsin saw the storms and tornado
warnings sweep in, with Madison, the state capital, included in the warning.
Earlier in the day, heavy rain, strong gusts, and big hail battered Omaha,
Nebraska, causing inhabitants to wake up to the sound of sirens and extensive
power outages. Cars and basements were swamped by the deluge. KETV, a
television channel, featured firefighters pulling people from cars.
Due to poor visibility caused by
dust storms, authorities in Illinois had to close sections of two interstates.
The McLean region saw wind gusts as high as 45 mph (74 kph), according to
meteorologist Chuck Schaffer of the National Weather Service.
Days of severe weather that devastated a large portion of the country's middle
region were followed by the storms. Late on Sunday, tornadoes, huge hail, and
strong winds hit sections of Oklahoma and Kansas, causing damage to homes and
two injuries in Oklahoma.
One more series of storms storm that pounded Colorado and western Nebraska on
Monday night left Yuma, Colorado, covered in baseball- and golf-ball-sized hail
that turned the city's roadways into rivers of ice and water.
Last week, severe storms in Texas
devastated the Houston region, leaving at least eight people dead. Many people
were left without air conditioning and in the dark amid the hot and muggy
weather on Thursday due to the storms that cut off power to hundreds of
thousands of people for many days. Tuesday saw the addition of a guy who passed
away from carbon monoxide poisoning while using a generator when his power went
out, bringing the total number of deaths up from seven. Hurricane-force winds
broke glass in downtown buildings and turned shops and other structures to
rubble.
The system is predicted to turn south on Wednesday, bringing more severe
weather to areas of Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, and southern Missouri, according
to Bob Oravec, lead forecaster with the National Weather Service.