Six Killed As Large Tornado Roars through Iowa

A tornado ripped through central Iowa, destroying buildings and bringing down trees and power lines, killing six people, according to Irish Examiner.

Four inpiduals were also injured, according to Madison County emergency management officials, when the tornado struck southwest of Des Moines on Saturday afternoon. Children and adults were among those killed.

Governor Kim Reynolds of Iowa has declared the county a disaster, allowing state resources to be used to help with response and recovery operations.

"Our hearts go out to all those who have been harmed by the deadly storms that ripped across our state today," she said.

"Our hearts break during this time, but I believe Iowans will rise to the occasion and band together to aid — and they already have."

The tornado destroyed 25 to 30 residences, according to Madison County emergency management director Diogenes Ayala. He said, "This is the worst anyone has seen in a long time."

Officials have not identified the victims, although they were not all slain at the same time.

Wendy Burkett told the Des Moines Register that she and two of her three girls were at home on Saturday afternoon when her husband Tony contacted her from a nearby shed where he was working to inform her of a tornado warning.

Ms Burkett stated that she went outdoors and joined him in front of the home, gazing southwest down their road. "Then we saw it," she explained. "Debris was flying around, and it was becoming increasingly loud."

As the tornado blasted by in seconds, they rushed to their basement with their girls. A window shattered as they clutched to each other, she recalled, and water began to pour from the pipes.

The tornado, however, passed in less than a minute. The family was unharmed, but their home was in shambles with wreckage all everywhere.

Later on Saturday, the National Weather Service in Des Moines tweeted that preliminary photographs and videos from the destruction in the Winterset area suggested it was at least an EF-3 tornado on the Enhanced Fujita scale, capable of causing significant damage.

On Sunday, weather service personnel would inspect the damage and determine a possible rating.