2 Children, 5 Others Dead After Multiple Tornadoes Destroy Dozens Of Iowa Homes

Seven people, including two children, died after a series of tornadoes passed over multiple counties in Iowa during the weekend. Four others were left injured in Madison County.

Madison County Emergency Management Director Diogenes Ayala said that six residents of the county were killed during a tornado’s onslaught in Winterset on Saturday. Two of them were children below the age of five, while the oldest victim was 72 years old, CNN reported. The deaths occurred in different locations, Ayala said. An official at Chariton said one person living in a rural area in Lucas County was also killed due to the tornado.

The deceased from Madison County were identified Sunday by emergency managers as Cecilia Lloyd, 72, Rodney Clark, 64, Melissa Bazley, 63, Michael Bolger, 37, Kenley Bolger, 5, and Owen Bolger, 2, KETV reported.

Four other adults were injured in Madison County, Ayala said. Three of the injured were in serious condition, while one suffered from life-threatening injuries, The New York Times reported.

Ayala also estimated that up to 30 residences may have been destroyed, but a more detailed assessment was pending Sunday.

Speaking with the Des Moines Register, south Winterset resident Stacie Carter said the walls of their home began collapsing shortly after her husband and daughter made it to the basement. She wasn’t at home when the tornado hit, but on her way back, she said “there were trees down all over the place.”

Adam and Jenn O’Neal’s flower farm was also destroyed by the Winterset tornado. Their residential house remained intact, but all infrastructures in their farm were reduced to rubble. “It was the scariest thing I’ve ever experienced,” Jenn told the outlet.

The tornado that hit Winterset was blamed for the destruction of about 52 homes in Madison county. The National Weather Service (NWS) said the Winterset tornado was an EF3, which has been designated by the agency as “severe,” with wind speeds ranging between 136 to 165 mph and 218 to 266 km/h. The agency added that there was an earlier EF3 tornado that struck Iowa Saturday.

Another tornado, an EF3, is said to have been responsible for damage near Chariton. An EF2 tornado with estimated wind speeds of 122 mph was reported to have passed near Leon and stayed on the ground for 19 miles.