Tornadoes slam Iowa
7 killed, including 2 children, amid ‘devastating’ damage
Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds on Sunday described “devastating” damage from deadly tornadoes that ripped through the state over the weekend as officials identified six of the seven victims — two of them children.
The victims died in storms Saturday; six were in Madison County, where a tornado hit near the city of Winterset.
“It was unimaginable, the destruction that we were able to witness on the brief tour that we just went through,” Reynolds said at a news conference. “Our hearts and our prayers go out to the families who lost loved ones, and those who were impacted by the storm.”
Emergency officials identified the six victims in Madison County as Michael Bolger, 37; Kenley Bolger, 5; Owen Bolger, 2; Cecilia Lloyd, 72; Rodney Clark, 64, and Melissa Bazley, 63. The deaths included people from three households, but there was no elaboration.
Six others in the Winterset area were getting treatment for injuries. The tornado generated wind speeds between 136 mph and 165 mph and damaged at least 52 homes within its nearly 14-mile path, officials said.
A seventh person who was killed by a tornado in Lucas County has not been publicly identified, but authorities said the victim was inside an RV at Red Haw State Park in the city of Chariton. Multiple others were injured in Lucas County.
Reynolds approved the use of state resources for Madison County by instituting a disaster proclamation. She praised the “local response” to the storms and thanked volunteers who showed up to make hamburgers, help clear debris and provide emotional support.
“Two hundred to 300 Iowans, not only from Madison County and Winterset, but from communities and towns all across the state that were on the ground the minute it was light and they could start helping. It’s just unbelievable,” Reynolds said.
“I tried to walk through and thank them for being there, and over and over the response was, ‘We’re Iowans, and that’s what we do. We show up, we take care of our family, we take care of our neighbors and we take care of our community.’ ”
About 10,000 people had lost power in Des Moines due to the storms. The city’s branch of the National Weather Service said Sunday three thunderstorms created an unspecified number of tornadoes Saturday.
The seven confirmed fatalities are the most tornado-related deaths in Iowa since 2008, when nine were killed.
“This is the worst anyone has seen in a very long time,” Diogenes Ayala, the emergency management director, told The Associated Press.
Madison County resident Jenn O’Neal said in a livestreamed video that her home sustained broken windows and that her flower farm was destroyed, according to the Des Moines Register.
“It was scariest thing I’ve ever experienced,” O’Neal said. “Our ears started popping. It sounded like a vacuum.”
Resident Wendy Burkett recalled seeing the tornado, telling the Des Moines Register there was “debris flying around and it was getting louder and louder.”