'Somehow I'm here': Neighbors say four people died in powerful Greenfield tornado

GREENFIELD — Luke Daughenbaugh found himself under piles of debris, the walls of his mom’s garage on top of him, his life flashing before his eyes.

It wasn’t long until at least 10 neighbors were there, pulling off pieces of the wreckage and finding a hole for him to climb through.

Daughenbaugh was caught outside Tuesday afternoon when a powerful tornado ripped through Greenfield, a town of about 2,000 people 60 miles southwest of the Des Moines metro, killing multiple people and injuring at least a dozen others.

“I was crushed pretty good,” he said Wednesday, looking at the pile of debris that’s left. “I’m lucky to be here.”

That sentiment — thankful for a new day and the small town they live in — was voiced throughout Greenfield as the community banded together in the aftermath of the storm.

Iowa saw an outbreak of powerful tornadoes Tuesday that the National Weather Service warned beforehand could be a "particularly dangerous situation.” More storms developed in Clarinda, Creston and Corning, where one woman in a car died. The tornado was so powerful it toppled wind turbines.

Then, a multi-vortex tornado struck Greenfield at 3:39 p.m. just as children were supposed to be heading home from school. An early report from the National Weather Service classified the twister as "at least" an EF3 tornado, but the weather service was still assessing the damage.

Sgt. Alex Dinkla, spokesperson with the Iowa State Patrol, estimated Tuesday night that at least a dozen people were hospitalized. But he said Wednesday morning he could not confirm the total number of deaths or injuries because search and rescue efforts were still underway.

Standing near the ruins of destroyed homes in the heart of Greenfield, longtime resident Joan Newell and Dwight Lahey, of Windsor Heights, the adult son of a 98-year-old resident on Southeast Sixth Street, said four neighbors on that block died in the storm.

Tearing up, Newell recounted how her own house collapsed around her as she sheltered in a basement bathroom. Somehow, she came through the disaster with only bruises. She said her grandson came to check on her immediately.

“I’m just thankful to be alive,” Newell said.

Destruction gut-wrenching; response heartwarming, governor says

Sirens blasted well before Tuesday's tornado hit in Greenfield, according to the National Weather Service. After the twister hit, the Adair County Health System hospital was evacuated, and some residents were air-flighted to nearby hospitals. A nearby lumberyard became a makeshift triage unit for the injured, and the local high school, Nodaway Valley, became a shelter. Residents and churches opened their doors to take in those who couldn't return home.

Windows at the hospital were boarded up Wednesday while work crews began fixing its roof. Cars that remained in its parking lot were severely damaged. The high school served as a medical center while the hospital was repaired

Gov. Kim Reynolds, who toured the destruction, said dozens of homes and businesses were leveled and farmland was severely damaged. She estimated damage would reach in the millions of dollars.

The scene, Reynolds said, was both gut-wrenching and heartwarming.

"I've always said Iowa is one big community, and we see that in times of crisis," she said.

The governor said the damage in Greenfield was more extensive than that to Minden in western Iowa after an EF3 tornado hit less than a month ago and killed one person. She issued disaster proclamations in 15 counties from Tuesday's outbreak of storms and said she would ask for an expedited presidential disaster declaration.

Around Greenfield, residents assessed the damage, searched for belongings, cut down felled trees and marveled at piles of debris and a changed skyline, while skid loaders and trucks filled with locals were hard at work clearing streets. The storm left cars sitting upright, computers ripped open in yards and trees stripped of their bark.

Just across Southeast Sixth near its intersection with Southeast Kent Street, a wooden clock still hung on the wall in the living room where Lahey’s mother lived. Most of the home’s blond brick walls had toppled, but she found her way to safety, he said.

While parts of town were flattened, however, Greenfield's town square, courthouse and cultural center were spared.

Speaking from her son's house near the square, Ginger Thompson said her house by the hospital was destroyed. Thompson, who uses a wheelchair, said she was trapped in a computer room upstairs when the tornado hit, engulfing her with the screaming sound of wind, crashing glass and destruction.

"I never want to hear that noise again," Thompson said. "I was panicked. I thought I was going to be gone."

Latest updates: Follow our coverage after tornadoes struck Iowa again

'The community ... brought me in their arms'

The town was closed to outsiders, and media were escorted by law enforcement, but volunteers were expected to be allowed in Thursday. Emergency personnel and law enforcement from surrounding counties stretching to the Nebraska and Missouri borders flooded Greenfield.

Dinkla said the community showed incredible unity, with neighbors and friends displaying remarkable compassion, empathy and support.

"This town has a long road ahead of them, but if their actions today are any indication of what lies ahead, they will emerge stronger and more united than ever before," he said.

Rep. Ray Sorensen, R-Greenfield, said at a news conference Wednesday with Reynolds that in the immediate aftermath of the storm, the community came together to help rescue injured people. He said he and some residents made a makeshift stretcher to take an injured person to the lumberyard-turned-hospital.

"There’s incredible common sense in this community. There’s incredible resolve," he said. "People were already getting to work, clearing debris out of the roads. Everybody who brought a skid loader in, thank you a million.”

Daughenbaugh was a recipient of that support. Trying to reach his son, Daughenbaugh said he was still outside when the tornado struck.

“It put me on the ground and then I just curled up in like fetal position. And pretty soon the garage walls were on top of me," he said Wednesday as he began cleaning up. "I was getting more pressure and pressure and pressure on me — I thought I was going to die there.”

Once the noise stopped — it really is like a freight train, he said — Daughenbaugh was able to yell loudly enough for his son in the basement to hear. Meanwhile, Daughenbaugh said he was breathing in house wrap that had come across his face, but tried to remain calm.

His son went for help, and about 10 people arrived to free him from the debris.

“There was some good neighbors," he said. “It was wild. I would never have imagined that would have happened.”

Rachel Randel, looking at the wreckage of her house on Wednesday, said she too was lucky to be alive after the storm took her home from its foundation. She was hiding under her basement steps when it struck.

“My house just fell on top of me. I got pushed by something in the back, forward, and by some act of God I crawled out relatively uninjured,” she said with tears in her eyes. “Bumps and scrapes and bruises, but I'm alive."

Randel, who lives near a fire station, said a firefighter helped her out. Then "the community took me from there and brought me in their arms and just did what small towns do best."

She and her family were spending the day sifting through debris to try to find anything of importance. But items from other people's houses are in her basement, "so my stuff might be on down the line.” While she's lucky to be alive, she said, her neighbor was one of the fatalities.

“Somehow I’m here. My neighbor two doors down isn’t.”

Where is Greenfield, Iowa?

Greenfield is the county seat of Adair County, about 60 miles southwest of Des Moines. About 2,000 people live there.

Greenfield had been preparing to be the Day 3 meetup town for the 2024 edition of the Register's Annual Great Bicycle Ride Across Iowa this July. Anne Lawrie, director of the cycling division of Ventures Endurance, the subsidiary of Register owner Gannett that operates the weeklong ride, said RAGBRAI had no comment at this time on how the ride might be affected.

This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Greenfield neighbors describe the destruction: 'I’m lucky to be here'