Iowa State Capitol: A powerful tornado ravaged the small town of Greenfield, Iowa, on Tuesday, resulting in multiple fatalities and at least a dozen injuries, according to local authorities.
Images from Greenfield reveal a scene of utter destruction: homes shattered into splinters, debris scattered widely, and several large wind turbines toppled.
“This tornado has devastated a good portion of this town,” said Sgt. Alex Dinkla, spokesperson for the Iowa State Patrol, during an evening press conference in Greenfield. “We can confirm there have been multiple fatalities with this tornado.”
While Dinkla did not provide an exact death toll, he indicated that more information would likely be available by Wednesday.
In the town of approximately 2,000 people, at least a dozen were injured by the twister. Due to damage sustained by the local hospital, the injured were transferred to medical facilities in nearby towns.
“I’ve lived here all my life. I’m just praying that everyone was safe, that everybody’s safe, and nobody got hurt,” Greenfield resident Valerie Warrior told CBS affiliate KCCI TV, standing amidst the ruins of her community. “It was scary, very scary.”
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Additional footage revealed smashed vehicles and significant damage to a gasoline station in Greenfield. The town, the county seat of Adair County, along with adjacent Adams County, appeared to have borne the brunt of the Iowa storms in the southwestern corner of the state.
At least one person, a woman in Adams County, has been confirmed as a storm-related fatality, according to the county’s medical examiner, Lisa Brown. She spoke to Reuters by phone but could not provide further details.
Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds declared a “disaster emergency” for 15 counties, including Adair and Adams, to facilitate the utilization of state resources in responding to the storm.
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In Adams County, at least three wind turbines, each standing about 25 stories high, were nearly snapped in half, with one catching fire, KCCI reported. Several other wind turbines in Adair County also sustained damage.
The National Weather Service had issued tornado warnings and severe thunderstorm advisories for much of Iowa and several other Midwestern states on Tuesday, including parts of Minnesota and Wisconsin. Earlier in the day, the weather service confirmed at least one tornado over Rollingstone, Minnesota.
