Tornados Rip Across Mid U.S. – Several Killed, Many Missing In Minnesota & Iowa
May 25, 2008 by national
Filed under Incident Reports
Severe thunderstorms packing large hail and tornadoes rumbled across the nation’s midsection on Sunday, killing at least eight people and damaging dozens of homes, authorities said.
Iowa Homeland Security administrator Dave Miller said seven of the dead were killed by a tornado in northeast Iowa — five from Parkersburg, 80 miles northeast of Des Moines, and two from nearby New Hartford. At least 50 injuries were reported.
“Occasionally we have a death but we have warning system. Seven deaths. It’s been a long time since we’ve had those kinds of injuries and deaths reported,” Miller said.
Witnesses reported parts of Parkersburg — particularly the town’s southside — were reduced to rubble, including most of the town’s high school and homes.
A tornado also struck just to the east in the nearby town of Dunkerton and elsewhere in Black Hawk County, where there were reports of homes damaged or destroyed. Dunkerton has fewer than 800 residents and New Hartford has about 700 people.
At least 20 people were unaccounted for in Minnesota after a swift storm blew through the St. Paul suburb of Hugo, damaging about four dozen homes, City Administrator Mike Ericson said. Many of them could be out of town for the holiday weekend, he said.
A 2-year-old child was killed and the child’s sibling was critically injured and taken to Regions Hospital in St. Paul, Washington County Sheriff Bill Hutton said. The children’s parents also were hospitalized with injuries sustained in the family home.
Hugo Minnesota
UPDATE: It is being reported that several city blocks have been demolished in Hugo Minnesota.
—
A 2-year-old was killed and nine others were injured as a tornado swept across Hugo Sunday afternoon, leaving behind dozens of destroyed and damaged homes.
The storm produced wind and hail damage across a swath of Minnesota and Western Wisconsin, traveling from Wright County to the communities north of the Twin Cities into Dunn County in Wisconsin, the National Weather Service said. Besides the tornado in Hugo, the weather service said trained weather spotters also reported a tornado touchdown in Coon Rapids, where several minor injuries were reported.
The National Weather Service reported that the Hugo tornado touched down shortly after 5 p.m.
Hugo Fire Chief Jim Compton confirmed the death of the 2-year-old and said a child of 4 or 5 years was critically injured.
Many of the injured were transported to Regions Hospital, which treated six adults and child from the Hugo area, hospital spokeswoman Jessica Flannigan said. St. John’s Hospital in Maplewood treated one critically injured child who was transferred to Regions. St. John’s also treated three adults who were expected to be released later Sunday night, said spokeswoman Anne Sonnee.
Authorities said there are about 20 people unaccounted for, but they cautioned that during a holiday weekend many may just be away for the weekend and not trapped underneath rubble.
