MADISON COUNTY, Iowa – Seven people, including two young children, died Saturday afternoon when a tornado touched down near Des Moines, destroying dozens of houses and knocking out power in the area, officials with the county Emergency Management Agency said.
Diogenes Ayala, director of the Madison County EMA, said there were four adults and two children killed. The children were under the age of five. He said those killed were found in different locations, but he declined to provide more details, citing the need to notify their families.
Update 1:33 p.m. EST March 6: According to the Department of Natural Resources, one death and one injury in Lucas County was confirmed Sunday, KCCI-TV and the Des Moines Register reported.
The agency said there was “extensive damage” after a tornado struck Red Haw State Park in Chariton, the Register reported.
Original report: The storm also left four adults injured in Madison County. Three of those injured were in serious condition Saturday night, while the fourth was taken to Des Moines Hospital with life-threatening injuries, he said.
Officials have suspended search and rescue efforts. Diogenes Ayala said at a news conference that authorities do not believe anyone remained unaccounted for Saturday night.
“This is, I think, the worst anyone has seen in quite a long time,” he said, noting that the tornado set down on Carver Road southwest of Winterset around 4:30 p.m. and damaged an estimated 25 to 30 homes. He could not say Saturday how long the tornado was on the ground or how strong it was.
“The (National) Weather Service will be out here tomorrow to verify that,” he said.
Officials with the NWS’ Des Moines office said images and videos from the area suggest the tornado was at least an EF3 with estimated winds of 136 to 165 mph.
Wendy Burkett told the Des Moines Register that she and her husband were standing in front of their house when they saw the tornado.
“There was debris flying around and it was getting louder and louder,” she told the newspaper, adding that the couple quickly moved with their children into their walkout basement to wait out the storm. Within seconds, Burkett said the tornado had passed, shattering a window and causing water to spew out of the pipes of the home where the family has lived for 12 years.
The storm left the family’s home in ruins, the Register reported.
“We didn’t have a scratch on us,” Burkett told the newspaper.
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Officials asked people to stay away from the area to allow emergency response teams to assess the impact of the storm.
“This is pretty devastating for our community,” Ayala said Saturday night. “The best thing that we can do is just give people time, let us heal. Obviously, we have a lot to do in the next couple days, couple weeks, couple months. … This will be impactful for many years to come.”
Cleanup efforts are underway in Winterset, Iowa, on Sunday, March 6, 2022, after a tornado tore through an area southwest of town on Saturday.
Members of the Winterset Fire Department embrace after a long evening responding to emergency calls after a tornado touched down west of Winterset, Iowa, killing multiple people and leveling homes on Saturday, March 5, 2022.
Diogenes Ayala, director of the Madison County Emergency Management Agency, reports on the number of fatalities after a tornado touched down southwest of Winterset, Iowa, on Saturday, March 5, 2022, damaging homes, knocking down trees and toppling power lines.
A utility worker tends to a downed stoplight on Highway 69 in Des Moines, Iowa, on Saturday, March 5, 2022, after a strong storm caused damage in areas of central Iowa.
Betty Hope of Winterset, Iowa, searches for items worth keeping at her home as cleanup efforts are underway on Sunday, March 6, 2022, after a tornado tore through an area southwest of town on Saturday.
Betty Hope of Winterset, Iowa, searches for items worth keeping at her home as cleanup efforts are underway on Sunday, March 6, 2022, after a tornado tore through an area southwest of town on Saturday.
