Lives spared by “advance warning and the grace of god.”
Nati Harnik / AP Photo,Nati Harnik
A devastating, quarter-mile wide Tornado tore through Mapleton, Iowa on Saturday night, demolishing more than half of its houses and buildings and completely flattening 20 percent of the city. The twister hit Mapleton—roughly 40 miles east of Sioux City—around 7:30 p.m. on Saturday, and as of 10 a.m. Sunday morning, officials were still working to get utilities running and fix a gas leak caused by the storm. Mapleton Utilities Director Tom Le Febvre said power should be restored later today to areas not hit by the tornado. Luckily, no deaths or injuries have been reported. "Last night we thought we'd be dealing with at least a dozen deaths," said Sheriff Jeff Pratt. "It must have been our advance warning and the grace of God," he added. The city is still blocked off, and officials have said that town entrances will likely not reopen until the gas leak is fixed.
