Four dead, 35 Injured as tornado wreaks havoc in Iowa's Greenfield

WORLD  23 May 2024 - 11:41

A powerful tornado swept across the US state of Iowa on May 22, killing four people.

The natural disaster also resulted in the injury of at least 35, Iowa authorities confirmed, Caliber.Az reports, citing Reuters.

The tornado slashed through the farming town of Greenfield and reduced homes and other buildings to heaps of twisted rubble.

Officials were still assessing the full extent of property damage in Greenfield, a community of 2,000 about 60 miles (97 km) southwest of Des Moines, the state capital.

The tally of casualties was announced by the Iowa Department of Public Safety at the end of a day in which rescue teams picked through fields of debris left by the deadly twister in search of people who might be trapped in the wreckage.

"When we have this many homes that have been destroyed, fully demolished, we want to make sure every person is accounted for," Iowa State Patrol Sergeant Alex Dinkla told a morning news conference.

The agency did not immediately say whether anyone was still reported missing or whether the search for victims was continuing.

No details were provided about the precise circumstances of the four storm-related fatalities. Their identities are being withheld pending notification of next of kin.

Of the 35 people reported injured by the tornado, at least 14 were taken to out-of-county hospitals for medical treatment, officials said, adding that the actual number of people hurt was most likely higher.

Images from Greenfield showed a wide swath of utter destruction, with homes reduced to splinters, trees uprooted, vehicles crushed and debris strewn everywhere. Several large wind turbines outside of town had been toppled or snapped in two.

Caliber.Az