Tornado Sweeps Through Iowa

A tornado flattened dozens of homes in three eastern Iowa communities, leaving a path of destruction that tore through businesses and neighborhoods in the Mississippi River town of Muscatine.

The twister ripped away the four walls of the post office in the town of Fruitland, leaving a clear view of post office boxes and equipment inside amid piles of rubble and tree limbs. In Muscatine, population 23,000, some roads were closed with fallen trees and were impenetrable by car.

Friday's tornado, with winds between 136 mph to 140 mph, struck the town of Grandview, went north through Fruitland and dissipated in the Muscatine area about 10 minutes later, said Jeff Zogg, a forecaster with the National Weather Service in Davenport.

Several people were hospitalized, but none with serious injuries, authorities said.

Heavy rains also poured across the region, causing flooding and several traffic accidents, including one fatal wreck.

In Grandview, a town of about 600, oak trees were shredded in various parts of town and debris from flattened homes littered the streets. One brick house stood roofless, while a few uprooted trees had busted through a nearby garage.

In northern Oklahoma, high winds damaged about 100 homes in Enid, uprooting trees and knocking out power to thousands of people early Friday, authorities said. No one was injured.