(Reuters) – Six people were killed by a tornado that struck Winterset, Iowa, on Saturday, the Des Moines Register reported, citing local officials.
The tornado crashed into the city southwest of the state capital Des Moines in the late afternoon, the newspaper reported, causing severe damage. Heavy storms caused more than 10,500 people in Des Moines to lose power.
The National Weather Service said the tornado was an EF3, meaning that it swirled with winds of up to 206 miles per hour (332 kph). The agency said on Twitter that the situation was “extremely dangerous.”
Reports initially indicated that two people had been killed when the tornado struck Winterset and nearby communities. But the newspaper later reported that four children and two adults had been killed when the twister hit around 4:30 p.m. (2230 GMT), citing Madison County Emergency Management Director Diogenes Ayala.
(Reporting by Sharon Bernstein; Editing by William Mallard)
