Deaths, extensive damage in Greenfield after powerful tornado rips ...

GREENFIELD — A small town about 60 miles southwest of the Des Moines metro has been hit by what meteorologists called a dangerous tornado, killing multiple residents and injuring at least a dozen others.

The heart of Greenfield is almost completely flattened. What’s left of homes are piles of rubble. Trees are stripped of their bark, while some are uprooted. Dozens of emergency vehicles line streets that are no longer walkable. Power lines are down.

Drone video posted to social media shows the path the tornado took through town with structures in its path destroyed and cars flipped. Those on the periphery sustained damage, some with roofs completely gone.

Sgt. Alex Dinkla, spokesperson with the Iowa State Patrol, confirmed the deaths at a news conference late Tuesday night. He did not know an exact number of those killed or injured, but estimated at least a dozen people were hospitalized. Dinkla did not think there were people still missing as of Tuesday evening but searches were still underway to confirm.

The Adair County Health System hospital was damaged, a MercyOne spokesperson told the Register. Windows at the hospital and on cars parked at the lot were shattered. People were seen leaving the building with suitcases, and the spokesperson said the hospital was evacuated.

Dinkla said patients who were already getting treatment there were transported to other hospitals.

Former state Rep. Clel Baudler said the fast-moving twister hit shortly after he arrived back home around 3:30 p.m. Tuesday afternoon from a trip to Texas. The tornado caused extensive damage and injuries in Greenfield and prompted authorities to limit traffic in and out of the Adair County town of more than 2,000.

More: Damage reports coming in after tornadoes touchdown in Iowa

“Ambulances are running north and south like crazy,” said Baudler, who left the Legislature in 2018. “It’s all rescue and recovery right now.”

Baudler, a retired state trooper who lives on Highway 25 about a half mile north of Greenfield, said his mile-long farm wasn’t damaged, but debris from the tornado was in a neighbor’s yard. He was still without power at about 5:20 p.m.

He said the tornado ran “cattywampus” through town, exiting on the northeast side.

Carl and Valerie Faust were in the path of the tornado and lost their home. After hearing the wind pick up, and getting a call from their son, they went to their basement.

"I got down five steps to the basement, and the house started popping," Carl Faust said.

It took about 40 seconds from start to finish for the tornado to tear through not just their home, but the whole town, Carl Faust said. Their neighbors came to check on them soon after.

"We'll get up in the morning," he said. "We'll look it all over with a fresh mind and fresh eyes and we'll start attacking it all."

An indefinite curfew is in effect from 10 p.m. to 7 a.m. in Greenfield, Dinkla said.

Where is Greenfield, Iowa?

Greenfield is the county seat of Adair County, about 60 miles southwest of Des Moines. The 2020 Census counted 2,062 people living there.

Greenfield had been preparing to be the Day 3 meetup town for the 2024 edition of the Register's Annual Great Bicycle Ride Across Iowa this July. Anne Lawrie, director of the cycling division of Ventures Endurance, the subsidiary of Register owner Gannett that operates the weeklong ride, said RAGBRAI had no comment at this time on how the ride might be affected.