June 22, 2007
Pella, Iowa
Photographer states :: This was as beautiful of a sight as it was frightening!!!
Nature can be majestic. It can cause people to become mesmerized. But, beautiful? I guess. At least as beautiful as mesotornadic clouds get.
Friday, June 22, 2007
7:06 PM CDT
DES MOINES (AP) --- A tornado hit two central Iowa towns on Friday, downing power lines and trees and damaging roofs.
No major injuries were reported by early Friday evening, officials said.
Heavy rain was expected to fall across the state through Friday night, with some areas already experiencing flooding, said Terry Simmons, a forecaster with the National Weather Service.
"We're expecting a lot more rain ... especially in these places that got rain (Thursday)," Simmons said.
The tornado hit the town of Cumming, just south of Des Moines, just before 5 p.m. and traveled east to Norwalk, officials with the weather service said.
Officials reported downed trees, and some roof and propane tank damage.
Mahala Cox, the emergency management coordinator in Warren County, said the storm blew doors of the fire station in Norwalk and caused scattered power outages across the county. She said there also were reports of trees that had fallen on houses with some minor roof damage.
Karen Nath, an assistant manager of the Casey's General Store on the north side of Norwalk, said the windows of the store were blown out. She also said the store's canopy was blown away.
People in the store were hurried into safe areas until the storm passed, she said.
"We didn't have a whole lot of time but we all got into areas that were safe," said Nath, who described the storm as scary.
"It's the first time I've ever been through something like that," she said.
Weather officials said no further details were immediately available and crews were still assessing the damage.
Fruitland moves on without FEMA (video at link)
Posted: 6/24/2007 11:25p
by, Pam CunninghamFRUITLAND, Iowa -- Storm victims in Muscatine County are facing a long road to recovery without federal help. On Friday, FEMA denied Governor Chet Culver's request for federal aid. A devastating tornado hit Muscatine County June 1st. It caused more than two-million dollars in damage to homes as it tore through Muscatine, Grandview and Fruitland.
Homeless families are trying to figure out what to do without those much needed federal dollars. The tornado struck the last day of school in Fruitland. And now that summer is here those kids don't have the bikes, toys or swing sets they had. And their parents don't know when they'll have the money to replace them.
Five year-old, Hunter Rickey tries to describe the walls in his old house, "It's just one's put up and one's wrecked."...
