Winterset tornado: Six killed, including two children, as 165-mph winds hit – World News

Severe 165-mph storms have hit Winterset, Iowa, killing two children and four adults

Six people, including two children, died in a tornado in Iowa.

Severe storms with winds of 160 mph have hit Winterset, Iowa with three adults currently in serious condition.

Madison County Emergency Management Director Diogenes Ayala confirmed six deaths when the tornado hit the southwest of the city at 4:30 p.m. local time.

Houses were completely leveled and buildings destroyed.

Residents have been told to take shelter as the tornado moves northeast through the state.

The National Weather Service classified the tornado as “severe” and category three on the Enhanced Fujita Scale, with winds ranging from 136 to 165 miles per hour.

Locals have reported taking cover as the tornado approached, and some barely managed to shield themselves from the winds.

Mandy Jurgensen’s pickup truck landed 50 feet from where it had been parked, she told the Des Moines Register.

She was watching TV with her boyfriend when the storm hit and said: “Suddenly it got dark outside”.

The couple, who live in Winterset, ducked to the ground as the tornado destroyed neighboring buildings and businesses.

Madison County resident Jenn O’Neal, whose flower farm was destroyed in the storm, said in an Instagram video, “It was the scariest thing I’ve ever witnessed. Our ears started popping, it sounded like a vacuum.

“We have nothing left but our lives and our house, but I’m grateful for that and nothing else matters.”

Another resident said her family had barely made it to the basement when the walls of their home began to collapse around them.

Search and rescue operations continue