Tornadoes hit Iowa causing 'multiple' deaths

A powerful tornado ripped through a small Iowa town on Tuesday, killing multiple people and leaving at least a dozen injured, authorities said.

"This tornado has devastated a good portion of this town," said Sgt. Alex Dinkla, a spokesperson with the Iowa State Patrol, during an evening press conference in Greenfield.

"We can confirm there have been multiple fatalities with this tornado."

Dinkla did not provide a death toll but said it may not be before Wednesday that figures could be provided.

At least a dozen people in Greenfield, a town of about 2,000 people, were injured in the twister, Dinkla said. Because the local hospital sustained damage in the storm, those people had to be transferred to facilities in nearby towns.

Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds said she would visit Greenfield on Wednesday morning.

"While it's too soon to know the storm's full impact, answers will come in the hours and days ahead," Reynolds said in a statement.

The governor said the state would provide its full resources to help the impacted areas recover, and reassured residents that support was in place working to provide shelter, food, and water, and restore power to thousands of residents.

At least one person, a woman in Adams County, was listed as a storm-related fatality, the county's medical examiner Lisa Brown said. She spoke to Reuters by phone but said she could not yet provide more details.

Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds declared a "disaster emergency" for 15 counties, including Adair and Adams, allowing state resources to be readily utilized in responding to the storm.

Also in Adams County, at least three wind turbines standing about 25 stories high were nearly snapped in half, with one catching fire, KCCI reported. It said several other wind turbines were damaged in Adair County.

The National Weather Service had issued tornado warnings and severe thunderstorm advisories for much of Iowa and several other Midwestern states on Tuesday, including parts of Minnesota, and Wisconsin.

Earlier in the day, the weather service confirmed at least one tornado over Rollingstone, Minnesota.

Reuters