Storms leave at least 7 dead in Iowa

Storms plagued Minnesota and Iowa on Sunday.

PARKERSBURG, Iowa (AP) — Severe thunderstorms packing large hail and possible tornadoes rumbled across the nation’s midsection on Sunday, killing at least seven people, injuring dozens more and damaging dozens of homes.

The storm hit just after 5 p.m. Sunday and dealt heavy damage to the town of Parkersburg. The National Weather Service has confirmed that a tornado struck the town of about 1,000 residents.

Iowa Homeland Security administrator Dave Miller says five of those killed were from Parkersburg and two were from nearby New Hartford. At least 50 injuries were reported.

At least 20 people were unaccounted for after a swift storm blew through the St. Paul suburb of Hugo, Minn., damaging about four dozen homes, City Administrator Mike Ericson said. Many of them could be out of town for the holiday weekend, he said.

A 2-year-old child was killed and the child’s sibling was critically injured and taken to Regions Hospital in St. Paul, Washington County Sheriff Bill Hutton said. The children’s parents also were hospitalized with injuries sustained in the family home.

“It’s horrible,” Ericson said. “The citizens are very shook and scared.”Residents reported a tornado touching down in the area, but that hadn’t been confirmed by the National Weather Service.

Dozens of emergency crews descended on the town to look for those who hadn’t been accounted for and to assess the damage.

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 21‚Ñ2-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.

A possible tornado also struck the nearby town of Dunkerton, Iowa, with reports of structures damaged in both cities and in rural Black Hawk County.

Power lines have also been knocked down in the area, leaving many residents without power.