GREENFIELD — Hundreds of volunteers from all over Iowa entered and exited the doors of a church here on a sunny Thursday morning, carrying water, paper towels, diapers, food and clothes in an effort to help the community after a deadly tornado ripped through town two days prior.
The parking lot of St. John’s Catholic Church, 303 N.E. Elm St., was lined with SUVs and pickup trucks filled with supplies as people gave orders to volunteers with smiling and determined faces. Thursday was the first day volunteers were allowed into Greenfield, a town decimated Tuesday afternoon by an EF4 tornado that killed four people, injured at least 35 others and damaged or destroyed 153 homes.
The tornado took a mile-long path across Greenfield, taking only one minute to destroy a large part of the town, Donna Dubberke, meteorologist-in-charge for the National Weather Service in Des Moines, said at a news conference.
Gov. Kim Reynolds said at the news conference that the quick cleanup in the Adair County town of about 2,000 people, 60 miles southwest of Des Moines, has been remarkable.
"I was on the ground yesterday and I can't even tell you the amount of debris that has been collected and hauled off," said Reynolds, adding that about 50% of the town's power was restored as of Thursday morning.
Residents and emergency responders have so far done the bulk of the cleanup. But Iowans stood at the ready to be allowed in to help.
More:'Somehow I'm here': Neighbors say four people died in powerful Greenfield tornado
A crew of high school football players from Red Oak High School, about an hour away from Greenfield, were some of the many people who showed up to carry donated supplies into the church.
Michael Nordeen, head football coach, brought 16 players to volunteer.
“We thought it was important to come out and help the community,” Nordeen said. “We try to teach our kids to do the right thing. We want to be there for the community. We’re just showing love to the state of Iowa and people in need.”
The community of Red Oak also pitched in, donating four vanloads of supplies, Nordeen said. The football team planned to help around town after they finished at the church.
Maggie Parish, a plant nurse with Michael Foods, an egg production plant in Lenox, brought her team of employees to help.
“Our initial goal was to provide breakfast in the morning, but while we were here we just stepped in and started helping,” Parish said. “Lenox had a tornado 11 years ago and so this is our pay-it-forward moment. We can give back and help those who probably helped us at one point. You hear about Iowa nice all the time, so this is what we do.”
Friends and family of Greenfield residents, clad in vests and work gloves, also drove from hours away to help remove the massive amounts of debris from the streets.
A group of three people in a golf cart drove around the dusty and debris-scattered streets to hand out breakfast sandwiches, sports drinks and water to workers and volunteers.
Ryan Antisdel, an owner of Moe’s RBF, a Greenfield coffee and breakfast shop, made more than 300 breakfast sandwiches and 200 lunch wraps on Wednesday to hand out to people in Greenfield. He planned to do the same Thursday. Nancy Antisdel, Ryan’s mother and an owner of Moe’s RBF, said they planned to give away food until they felt like everyone in town had been fed.
NWS: Reports show tornadoes ran 130 miles
The National Weather Service on Thursday classified the Greenfield tornado as an EF4, and designated a tornado in the southwest Iowa counties of Page, Montgomery and Adams as an EF3. One that started in Johnston and ran to Nevada was categorized as an EF2.
Crews are still surveying the tornado tracks and damages, but said they knew as of Thursday morning that those three tornadoes had tracked 130 miles through the state, starting at about 2:45 p.m. Tuesday in Montgomery and Page counties and ending shortly before 5 p.m. in Nevada. The Greenfield tornado traveled 44 miles from near Visilica and reached speeds of 185 mph, according to NWS.
More:'Lucky again': Tornado kills one in rural southwest Iowa; neighbors describe near-misses
The storms not only produced tornadoes, but high winds and heavy rains, which caused damage and flooding across the state. A tornado also killed Monica Zamarron, who was blown out of her car in Adams County.
Reynolds had issued a disaster declaration for 15 counties on Tuesday. She added 17 more counties Wednesday, bringing the total to 32 — nearly a third of the state's 99 counties.
They are: Adair, Adams, Black Hawk, Buena Vista, Butler, Cass, Cedar, Clay, Clinton, Dubuque, Fayette, Franklin, Hanco*ck, Hardin, Harrison, Humboldt, Iowa, Jackson, Jasper, Kossuth, Marshall, Mills, Montgomery, Muscatine, O'Brien, Page, Palo Alto, Polk, Pottawattamie, Tama, Story and Warren counties.
Reynolds said Thursday that at least 202 homes incurred major damage or were destroyed in the storms, including 153 in Adair County, 26 in Polk County, 15 in Story County and eight in Montgomery County.
"We've had a lot of destruction and damage across the state," she said.
The governor has requested an expedited presidential disaster declaration from President Joe Biden. In her report, she estimated $11 million has been spent statewide on debris removal and emergency protective measures and damage to utilities. It also said 69,005 homes, businesses and facilities statewide lost power Tuesday.
The Adair County Health System hospital that was struck Tuesday sustained "substantial damage," MercyOne spokesperson Eve Lederhouse said in a news release. Staff and patients were evacuated; there were no injuries. Hospital officials expect repairs could take weeks, if not months, and the hospital will remain closed until "further assessments can be completed," Lederhouse said. Doctors and nurses are providing care at the local elementary school.
FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell, who toured the damage on Thursday with the governor, said she would work with the Biden administration on the state's request.
More:Here's how you can help Greenfield Iowa recover from Tuesday's tornado
She said she was on the ground because photos and videos do not show the full scope of the destruction.
“As much as I’ve been watching the videos and seeing the pictures of the tornado damage, it just does not do it justice," Criswell said. "When you’re here on the ground and you can see the homes gone or you can talk to a member who lost their home and they share their story of how they just barely escaped death, where they decided to keep safe during the storm, those are the kind of things that you just can't get unless you're here on the ground."
José Mendiola is a breaking news reporter for the Register. Reach him at jmendiola@dmreg.com.
