Tornadoes Attack Iowa And Kansas
A series of powerful thunderstorms and tornadoes swept through three Midwestern states Thursday night, injuring several people and damaging a church, a nursing homes and a city hall.
In Iowa, the twisters late Thursday cut a path from north of the Waterloo airport, through Dunkerton and into Buchanan County, Black Hawk County Sheriff's Deputy Tony Thompson said.
CBS Affiliate KGAN-TV reports at least ten people were injured, one critically.
A 72-year-old woman lost an arm and a hand when her home near Cedar Falls was struck. Marilyn R. Whitesell's condition was being evaluated today at an Iowa City hospital, officials said.
A man broke his leg when a home north of Waterloo was struck, and a boy was reported hurt on a farm west of Dunkerton, said Dave Miller of the Iowa Emergency Management Agency.
The steeple at St. Johns Lutheran Church north of Dunkerton was torn free and left crumpled at the rear of the white-frame building, and some tombstones had blown over in the cemetery.
The church had just been remodeled with new lights and carpeting, said Roger Dedor, the church's board president.
"The wind just kind of picked the steeple up and rammed it right through the roof," Dedor said. He estimated damage at a half million dollars or more.
About 150 tenants of a nursing home near Dunkerton were evacuated after its roof was heavily damaged. Up to six suffered minor injuries, Thompson said.
City Hall, which was housed in a temporary doublewide mobile home, was heavily damaged. Debris from the building littered a nearby service station. The old City Hall building was destroyed last May by floods.
"Sometimes you wonder if the good Lord is mad at you, but you just have to take it in stride," Mayor Richard Ede said. "I guess if we have to lose a building or a couple of buildings, at least nobody was in them."
About 2,500 homes and businesses in the county were without electricity early Friday, primarily because of downed power lines. MidAmerican Energy spokesman Kevin Waetke said it could be another day before power is restored.
In Kansas, CBS Affiliate KCTV-TV reports two lines of severe thunderstorms containing tornadoes forced the closure of public schools in Tonganoxie and the cancellation of graduation practice.
KCTV's Russel Kinsaul reported downed trees and classrooms full of water in the town.
In Kansas City, Mo., police said a tornado touched down north of downtown. Two automobile dealerships were damaged, but there were no immediate reports of injuries.
Mike Thomas, who lives across the street from the Jay Wolfe Toyota dealership, spotted the tornado through his bedroom window before ushering his family and some friends to the basement.
"The glass sounded like dropping hundreds of bags of marbles multiplied 10 million times," Thomas said. "You could hear all the glss shattering…It was like watching a 3-D movie, but it was a lot more serious."
Thunderstorms also whipped across southern Wisconsin late Thursday night, accompanied by strong winds that downed some trees and power lines and damaged several buildings. No injuries were reported, but about 25,000 customers lost power during the storm.
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