Iowa man dies after being trapped in basement during Minden tornado
MINDEN, Iowa – An Iowa man died Saturday from injuries sustained during Friday's tornado outbreak, the Iowa Homeland Security and Emergency Management Department confirmed Sunday.
The man was trapped in his basement after a massive wedge tornado swept through the town of Minden, his family member told local media. First responders were able to free him and rushed him to a hospital late Friday. Media reports listed him as stable, but he succumbed to his injuries Saturday night.
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Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds issued a disaster emergency proclamation for Minden, a town of just under 600 residents. She said that about 180 homes were damaged, and 40% of those were destroyed.
One man's house was blown about 20 feet off its foundation, but he told FOX Weather's Brandy Campbell that he was lucky because he wasn't at home when the twister struck his two-story home.
"It's kind of crazy. I'm trying to stay in good spirits with it, you know? It's one of those things that you can only do so much. It wasn't where I left it," homeowner Randy Davis said, trying to keep his sense of humor. "I got a lot of support, though. A lot of my friends are helping out."
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So many volunteers flocked to the town on Saturday that authorities had to turn some of them away. The mayor said the town had not seen that violent a tornado in almost 50 years.
Tornadoes broke out again on Friday across Oklahoma. Two people died in Holdenville, including an infant, according to FOX 25 Oklahoma City. Another person died in Marietta and another in Sulphur, the state's governor said in a press conference. That brings the weekend's death toll to five from the April tornadoes.
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The National Weather Service issued more than 80 Tornado Warnings on Friday and Saturday. The Omaha office issued 42 on Friday alone, which was a record for a single day. May 12, 2023, was the previous record with 33 warnings. The NWS in Norman also issued a record 59 Tornado Warnings on Saturday. That blew away the previous record of 47 from May 3, 1999.
Original article source: Iowa man dies after being trapped in basement during Minden tornado
