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6 deaths 4 injuries from Madison County tornado; 1 death in Lucas County

News, Weather

March 6th, 2022 by Ric Hanson

(Madison County, Iowa) – Rural Winterset took a direct hit from a tornado that touched down Saturday evening. Official says the Winterset tornado hit 25-30 homes. Madison County authorities and the Iowa State Patrol are urging the public to please stay away from the area in the coming days.

Madison County Emergency Management Director Diogenes Ayala said four adults and two children under the age of 5 were killed Saturday when a tornado struck a neighborhood by Carver Road 3 miles southwest of Winterset at about 4:30 p.m.Four adults were also injured, three seriously with life threatening injuries, Ayala said. One person with life-threatening injuries was taken to a Des Moines hospital with serious injuries. Ayala would not say how many residents live in the area because families were still being notified that people died.
After hitting the neighborhood, the tornado continued northeast through Madison County. “On Carver Road we saw the biggest impact of the tornadoes,” Ayala said. “On both sides there was a big impact to housing. Many people had their houses lost.” An emergency shelter was set up at New Bridge Church at 1305 W. Jefferson St. in Winterset for anyone needing assistance. There were 162 miles of tornado reports throughout the state, many of which came from the same storm.
“Initial interrogation of photos and videos from around Winterset suggests at least EF3 tornado damage occurred late Saturday afternoon,” the Des Moines NWS office wrote on Twitter. “NWS survey teams will be out Sunday to thoroughly investigate the damage and further assess a potential rating.”
KCCI reports in Lucas County, one fatality has been confirmed. There is significant damage south and east of Chariton. There is significant damage at Red Haw State Park. The county conservation building at Pin Oak Marsh has been destroyed. Further damage will be assessed today (Sunday).In Norwalk, there are several reports of damage to homes and local facilities. Highway 28 from Wright to Delaware is closed. In areas of Newton, tornado sirens did not go off. Officials said there was a programming issue with the sirens that has now been fixed.

In Polk County, five homes are considered a total loss south of Pleasant Hill. No major injuries have been reported. There are reports of widespread storm damage throughout the southeast part of Polk County.