Many Iownans heard tornado sirens wailing for more than an hour on Saturday night, but others who were in harm’s way heard nothing.
Residents of Newton may have initially been caught off guard by Saturday’s severe weather outbreak, because the city’s emergency sirens did not go off when the city was officially placed under a tornado warning. However, all other sirens in Jasper County did go off and did work properly, according to local emergency management officials.
According to the Jasper County Sheriff’s office, there was an initial programming issue with the sirens in Newton, which has since been fixed. According to the sheriff’s office, the north side of the community of Newton did receive some damage from Saturday’s severe weather.
A portion of the roof was torn off TPI Composites Incorporated in Newton, according to a local spokesperson. The sheriff’s office says several trees were downed in Kellogg and several homes were damaged in the town of Newburg, as well. No serious injuries were reported within the county.
Elsewhere in the state, at least four tornadoes claimed seven lives, six of them in Winterset.
(By Brent Wiethorn, KFJB, Marshalltown)