File: Storm chasers captured video of the large, deadly tornado moving through communities around Shelby, Iowa on April 26.
MINDEN, Iowa – Twice in less than two weeks, tornado sirens terrified residents of Minden and Shelby in Iowa. Monday’s scare came after a deadly EF-3 tornado flattened half of Minden and killed a man just ten days earlier.
The alarms blared a little after 7 p.m. when NWS meteorologists reported that the tornado was radar-indicated by a debris ball, or radar evidence of debris being lofted into the air. Survey crews later confirmed the tornado was an EF-1 with 107 mph max winds. It traveled more than 4 miles and, at one point, was 450 yards wide.
“Early assessments indicate seven properties, and a hog confinement were impacted by the latest storm. No injuries were reported,” Pottawattamie County officials said in a statement. “Officials say there was no major damage to homes in the area, but several outbuildings and trees were destroyed.”
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Once again, residents lost power.
“Mother Nature strikes the southern half of the NIPCO system again on Monday evening, May 6, laying down ten transmission structures, stretching nearly one mile long,” the Northwest Iowa Power Cooperative said in a statement. “This damage is located just a mile and a half from the line span previously impacted by the April 26 storms near Minden, Iowa.”
NIPCO said it plans to repair the damage by the end of the week.
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(Northwest Iowa Power Cooperative / FOX Weather)
The damage was much less extensive Monday than the destruction from the monster wedge tornado from April 26. In Minden alone, the EF-3 damaged 180 homes, destroying half of them.
Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds issued a disaster declaration for Pottawattamie County, which is home to 15 towns, including Carter Lake, Council Bluffs, Minden and Shelby.
Massive tornadoes tore through a town in southwest Iowa on Friday, leaving extensive damage in their path. Over two dozen tornadoes were spotted, prompting the National Weather Service to issue a Tornado Emergency Warning for the life-threatening weather event. FOX Weather’s Brandy Campbell is in Minden, Iowa, with the latest.
“We lost about every building in town for the business part of it, and our water tower stood,” Minden Mayor Kevin Zimmerman said during a press conference. “But we can’t pump water right now into it, so we’re running off generators.”
The governor had to take over the press conference when Zimmerman broke down with emotion.
“Let me tell you, I got a guy here that’s a mayor that had his home impacted and two or three businesses in the community, who’s gone through it twice,” Reynolds said. “So not only is he managing the community, but he’s dealing with personal loss too, with his business.”
One man in Minden, sheltering from the storm in his basement, became trapped when his home collapsed. Officials said he later died from the injuries.