Iowa City cleans up after tornado

IOWA CITY, Iowa – City streets showed signs of returning to their normal rhythms Saturday in the aftermath of a tornado that carved a 3 1/2 -mile path of destruction through the heart of downtown.

Meanwhile, a round of tornadoes ripped through Nebraska, damaging farm buildings and downing power lines. The strong storms dumped heavy rain and hail and produced winds of up to 60 mph, but no injuries were reported.

Two poultry complexes – each 476 feet by 78 feet – were leveled. “If you drove up there now, you would never know there was a building – besides the mess,” owner Annette Wiese told KWBE Radio in Beatrice.

In Iowa City, crews opened streets that had been blocked off since Thursday’s tornado and restored power to the 6,500 customers cut off by downed utility lines. Customers returned downtown to shop and dine.

“I can see already that the response has been extremely rapid and professional,” said Lt. Gov. Sally Pederson, who toured damaged neighborhoods.

City and county officials estimated the preliminary damage to public buildings at $4 million but said total costs could rise another $3 million. That doesn’t include damage to buildings at the University of Iowa, which federal officials estimated at $5.9 million.

The twister and accompanying winds estimated at 150 mph tore off roofs, flipped cars, damaged businesses and destroyed St. Patrick’s Catholic Church, one of the city’s oldest churches.

At least five tornadoes touched down in Johnson County, which includes Iowa City, but several others were reported across eastern Iowa Thursday night. A tornado killed a woman in Nichols, about 20 miles southeast of Iowa City.