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4 validated dead in Iowa tornado as more storms threaten Southern Plains

4 individuals were killed and a minimum of 35 were hurt, Iowa authorities stated Wednesday, after a tornado slashed through the farming town of Greenfield the day before and reduced homes and other structures to stacks of twisted rubble.

Officials were still examining the complete degree of residential or commercial property damage in Greenfield, a community of 2,000 about 60 miles (97. km) southwest of Des Moines, the state capital.

The tally of casualties was announced by the Iowa Department. of Public Safety at the end of a day in which rescue teams. picked through fields of debris left by the fatal twister in. search of people who may be caught in the wreckage.

When we have this many homes that have actually been destroyed,. completely demolished, we wish to make sure everyone is accounted. for, Iowa State Patrol Sergeant Alex Dinkla told an early morning news. conference.

The agency did not instantly state whether anybody was still. reported missing or whether the look for victims was. continuing.

No information were offered about the precise situations of. the four storm-related casualties. Their identities are being. withheld pending notice of near relative.

Of the 35 people reported injured by the twister, a minimum of. 14 were required to out-of-county medical facilities for medical treatment,. authorities said, adding that the actual variety of individuals hurt was. probably greater.

Images from Greenfield revealed a broad swath of utter. destruction, with homes lowered to splinters, trees uprooted,. lorries crushed and debris scattered all over. Several large. wind turbines outside of town had been fallen or snapped in. two.

It's dreadful. It's hard to describe, stated Iowa Guv. Kim Reynolds, who stated a catastrophe emergency situation for 15 counties.

The tornado that touched down in Greenfield was among a. swarm of twisters reported in southwestern Iowa on Tuesday. afternoon and evening. The Federal Emergency Situation Management Company. said preliminary reports counted 23 possible twisters, mainly. in Iowa.

Reynolds said state authorities were working to send a request. for President Joe Biden to approve a disaster statement to get. federal assistance for state citizens.

Amongst the structures damaged in Greenfield was a hospital,. forcing authorities to develop a makeshift healthcare center at. the lumberyard and send out a few of the injured to other area. centers.

State Representative Ray Sorensen said numerous locals. utilized their own lorries to transport those who were injured to. security moments after the storm struck.

We pulled a guy from the debris and put him on a little. makeshift stretcher we made and threw him in the back of a. truck, he said.

Extreme thunderstorms packing big hail and harmful winds. were anticipated once again on Wednesday across the Southern Plains,. with twister sees posted for much of Texas, along with parts. of Oklahoma, Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi and Tennessee.

The National Weather Service reported that a minimum of 3. twisters touched down in Texas Wednesday evening, consisting of one. in the city of Temple, located about 60 miles northeast of. Austin. There were no immediate reports of deaths or injuries.

A different storm system threatened to generate tornadoes in. parts of New York, Pennsylvania, Maryland and Virginia,. according to the National Weather Condition Service.

(source: Reuters)