WORLD> America
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WORLD> America
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Lethal storms kill 8 in Iowa and Minnesota
(Agencies)
Updated: 2008-05-26 23:35
"It's horrible," Ericson said. "The citizens are very shook and scared." Gov. Tim Pawlenty announced plans to meet with city officials and tour the storm-ravaged city on Monday. Roughly 300 to 400 homes were evacuated in the storm-damaged area because of concerns over hazards including downed power lines and leaky gas lines, Ericson said. The city set up a shelter at an elementary school, but American Red Cross spokeswoman Courtney Johnson said all but one of the families was able to find a place to stay with friends or relatives. Hugo Public Works Director Chris Petree said his family took shelter in the basement before the storm lifted his house off the ground and completely wiped out the second floor. "I put my daughter down first, my wife on top of her and then I bear-hugged on top of them," Petree said. As he huddled in his basement against a foundation wall with his wife and 2 1/2-year-old daughter, Petree said they heard the thunderous sound of their house coming off the ground. "All you hear is glass breaking and wood tearing and breaking in half," Petree said. The National Weather Service issued a tornado watch about 6 p.m. for 45 of Wisconsin's 72 counties, but canceled the alert five hours later as the storms began to ease. At least 16,000 people across Wisconsin lost power at some point. At least three weak tornadoes touched down in the Texas Panhandle. There were no reports of injuries or building damage across the sparsely populated region, meteorologist Jason Jordan said. About 100 people have died in US 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. |
