Block by block in the small town of Greenfield, Iowa, the destructive power of the EF-4 tornado that destroyed more than 100 homes in the town in just a minute was evident in the muddy, pulverized destruction it left in its wake.
Across the mile-long disaster zone on Thursday, the deafening din of heavy machinery shoveling shattered homes, destroyed vehicles and mangled trees echoed throughout the area. But on both sides of the road, picturesque homes and lawns appeared unscathed, making it hard to believe that a tornado with maximum wind speeds of 175 to 185 mph (109 to 115 kph) struck a community of 2,000 people, killing four and injuring at least 35.
Storms spawn tornadoes in Iowa, injure people, destroy wind turbines
Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds said at a press conference Thursday that more than 202 homes were destroyed in the series of tornadoes that struck the state on Tuesday, most of them in and around Greenfield. That number does not include businesses and other buildings that were destroyed or damaged, including a 25-bed hospital in Greenfield.
The havoc caused by the tornado is evident on the faces of people who are still coming to terms with how quickly their homes and lives were destroyed.
Among those who died were Dean and Pam Wiggins, said grandson Tom Wiggins.
Local residents clear debris from a home damaged by a tornado, Wednesday, May 22, 2024, in Greenfield, Iowa. (AP Photo/Charlie Nibergal)
Tom Wiggins spent Thursday trying to find keepsakes from his grandparents whose home was destroyed by the tornado and little remains except the foundation of the building, which he described as “incredibly loved not only by our family but by the whole town.”
A few steps away, Bill Yount, 64, was also cleaning.
“It looks like someone took a bomb,” Yount said, pointing to an area covered in timber, rubble, defoliated trees, heavy machinery and clean-up equipment.
Yount’s house “is really the only one that survived. I don’t know how it survived,” she said, pointing to the remains of the destroyed house next door.
Surveying the damage was Edith Shaker, 80, who was briefly trapped in her collapsed home with her daughter before neighbors rescued them and the couple took refuge in a concrete shower in the basement, with pillows over their heads to protect them from falling debris.
“It was probably over within 30 seconds,” she said, adding that her home of 47 years was destroyed.
Schacher’s neighbor, Joan Mitchell, was in the home she’d lived in for 10 years with her 57-year-old son when the tornado struck.
She had ignored a tornado warning and was thrown to the floor and two recliners flew onto her.
“I kept praying, and then I started screaming, ‘Help! Help! Help!'” Mitchell recalled. Though bruised, she and her son survived.
The governor praised the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s response Thursday as he called for disaster declarations for several counties. After assessing the damage on Tuesday, the National Weather Service determined that three separate, powerful tornadoes carved a combined path of 130 miles (209.21 kilometers) across Iowa, according to Donna Dubberke, meteorologist in charge in Des Moines.
Colton Newberry, 24, was working in Des Moines, about 60 miles (97 kilometers) from his Greenfield home with his wife and 10-month-old daughter, when the tornado struck.
He rushed back home to find his house “a hole in the ground,” he said. His wife hadn’t heard the sirens. Newberry said his cousin rushed in to help his wife and baby, and they rode out the tornado in his cousin’s basement. High winds blew entire houses away, Newberry said. “Just the foundations of almost every house on the block were left standing.”
More severe weather is moving across the Midwest, with the National Weather Service’s Storm Prediction Center predicting an increased risk of severe storms late Thursday night into Friday morning across much of Nebraska and western Iowa, including areas of Iowa where tornadoes struck and parts of Nebraska where hurricane-force winds, large hail and heavy rain caused road and basement flooding.
Andrew Ansorge, an NWS meteorologist in Des Moines, warned that this latest wave of severe weather, including possible tornadoes, will hit Iowa “while people are sleeping.”
“The damage is already there and any strong winds will only exacerbate it,” Ansorge said. “It’s a losing battle all around.”
More severe weather could hit storm-hit areas of Texas, Oklahoma and Kansas on Saturday and Sunday. The powerful storm pounded the city of Temple, population more than 90,000, which declared a state of emergency. Thousands lost power, classes were canceled Thursday and debris was reported blocking traffic at the nearby Army base at Fort Cavazos.
Prior to Tuesday’s tornado in Greenfield, the deadliest tornado this year was one that killed three people in Logan County, Ohio, on March 14. The Greenfield tornado set a new deadly record, destroying homes and toppling large power-generating wind turbines outside the city.
The Greenfield tornado was initially rated an EF-3 but was determined Thursday to be the third EF4 tornado of 2024. The first occurred in Marietta Lake Murray, Okla., in April and the second occurred earlier this month in Barnsdall, Okla. On average, there are three to four EF4 tornadoes a year, with the highest number ever recorded being 13 in 2011, according to Storm Prediction Center warning coordination meteorologist Matt Elliott.
The damage was so extensive that it took authorities more than a day to count the safety of residents in the area, and the Iowa Department of Public Safety said the number of injured may be higher. Authorities have not yet released the names of the victims in Greenfield.
A fifth person was killed Tuesday when a tornado blew her car off the road about 25 miles (40 kilometers) from Greenfield, according to the Adams County Sheriff’s Office. Monica Zamaron, 46, died in the accident Tuesday afternoon, authorities said.
Governor Reynolds requested an immediate presidential disaster declaration for hard-hit Iowa counties, and FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell, who was also present at the press conference in Greenfield, said the agency would process the request as quickly as possible and provide resources to those who have lost their homes, including funding for temporary housing.
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At a time when climate change is increasing the intensity of storms around the world, this year has been a historic tornado season in the United States, with April being the second-most tornado-producing month on record in the US.
As of Tuesday, 859 tornadoes had been confirmed this year, 27% more than the average number seen in the U.S., according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) Storm Prediction Center in Norman, Oklahoma. Iowa had the most confirmed tornadoes on record, with 81.
