Arrow-right Camera
The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Tornado kills seven in Iowa

Associated Press The Spokesman-Review

PARKERSBURG, Iowa – Severe thunderstorms packing large hail and tornadoes rumbled across the nation’s midsection on Sunday, killing at least eight people and damaging dozens of homes, authorities said.

Iowa Homeland Security administrator Dave Miller said seven of the dead were killed by a tornado in northeast Iowa – five from Parkersburg, 80 miles northeast of Des Moines, and two from nearby New Hartford. At least 50 injuries were reported.

“Occasionally we have a death, but we have a warning system. Seven deaths. It’s been a long time since we’ve had those kinds of injuries and deaths reported,” Miller said.

Witnesses reported parts of Parkersburg – particularly the town’s south side – were reduced to rubble, including most of the town’s high school and homes.

A tornado also struck just to the east in the town of Dunkerton and elsewhere in Black Hawk County, where there were reports of homes damaged or destroyed. Dunkerton has fewer than 800 residents and New Hartford has about 700 people.

Iowa Gov. Chet Culver issued a disaster proclamation for Black Hawk, Buchanan and Butler counties.

Miller said homeland security officials are monitoring reports of storms throughout Iowa. In the Des Moines area, there was heavy rain and lightning Sunday night with wind gusts of 70 mph.

At least 20 people were unaccounted for in Minnesota after a swift storm blew through the St. Paul suburb of Hugo, damaging about four dozen homes, City Administrator Mike Ericson said. Many of them could be out of town for the holiday weekend, he said.

A 2-year-old was killed and the child’s sibling was critically injured and taken to Regions Hospital in St. Paul, Washington County Sheriff Bill Hutton said. The children’s parents also were hospitalized with injuries sustained in the family home.

About 300 or 400 homes were evacuated in the storm-damaged area because of concerns over hazards including downed power lines and leaky gas lines, Ericson said. The city set up a shelter at an elementary school for those displaced.

Hugo Public Works Director Chris Petree said his family took shelter in the basement before the storm lifted his house off the ground and completely wiped out the second floor.

In Illinois, the weather service issued a tornado warning for Jo Daviess County through Sunday. Tornado watches were issued for counties including LaSalle and DeKalb. Portions of southern and central Illinois were under thunderstorm watches.

About 100 people have died in U.S. twisters so far this year, the worst toll in a decade, according to the weather service, and the danger has not yet passed.