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Tornadoes devastated central Iowa on Thursday night, surprising forecasters and causing damage in several cities.
Injuries were reported following a tornado at an agricultural machinery plant in Pella, about 40 miles southeast of Des Moines. Liz Sporrer, a spokeswoman for maker Vermeer Corp., told Des Moines Register that the facility had suffered significant damage.
"We are walking carefully to make sure everyone is cared for." She added that the company was hosting visitors for a special event when the tornado struck
Pella police lieutenant, Shane Cox, told KCCI-TV television channel that some people in the # 39; factory were taken to the hospital, but he did not know the extent of their injuries or the number of people. Emergency responders were trying to break into the damaged building to see if anyone was trapped.
One of the many factory manufacturing buildings suffered significant damage, with metal scattered on the parking lot and across the street. Vehicles were knocked over and piled on others.
In Marshalltown, northeast of the state capital, several buildings and a historic courthouse were damaged. A woman working in downtown Hammer Medical Supply told The Associated Press that her building was damaged, as was The Orpheum, a theater built in 1948. Amy Varcoe, a spokesperson for UnityPoint Health based in Des Moines, told AP that his hospital in Marshalltown was being evacuated and 40 patients were being transferred to Waterloo and Grundy Center hospitals. It is not known to what extent the building was damaged
Additional funnels were reported when the storm moved east from Des Moines after Altoona, Prairie City and Colfax
Alex Krull, a meteorologist at the National Weather Service in Des Moines. , said the forecast models produced Thursday morning showed only a slight possibility of strong thunderstorms later in the day.
"This morning, it did not appear that tornado supercells were possible," Krull said. "We expected that we could have big hail if strong storms developed."
Krull says that the weather service was waiting for a threat of severe weather to remain in effect from 7 pm to 8 pm. local time when storms moved to the east and the north
Associated Press contributed to this report.
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