PARKERSBURG, IOWA - A tornado a mile wide killed seven people in Iowa on Sunday and forced the evacuation of Parkersburg, 80 miles northeast of Des Moines, according to media reports.
Five people in Parkersburg and two from nearby New Hartford were killed. At least 50 injuries were reported.
"Occasionally we have a death, but we have a warning system. Seven deaths. It's been a long time since we've had those kinds of injuries and deaths reported," Iowa Homeland Security administrator Dave Miller said.
Witnesses reported that parts of Parkersburg -- particularly the town's south side -- were reduced to rubble, including most of the town's high school and homes.
Emergency officials ordered all Parkersburg residents to be out of town by nightfall and were working to get a head count to determine whether anyone was missing, the Des Moines Register reported.
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.
About 100 people have died in U.S. twisters so far this year, the worst toll in a decade, according to the weather service, and the danger has not passed yet. Tornado season typically peaks in the spring and early summer, then again in the late fall.
ASSOCIATED PRESS
