America: Tornadoes devastate half the town

A massive tornado on Saturday night swept the small town of Mapleton, Iowa, USA, knocking down hundreds of year-old trees, breaking power lines and destroying many houses.

The tornado with winds of up to 217km / h swept the town of Mapleton on the evening of April 9 local time. The national weather agency said the tornado has a diameter of about 40m and a long road of 5.6km.

Emergency workers reported 14-16 wounded, of which the most severe case was a broken leg. People were warned 10 minutes before the tornado came.

Mayor Mapleton Fred Standa said the tornado destroyed more than half of Mapleton, a town of about 1,200 people in western Iowa. Mr. Standa estimated that about 20% of the town was flattened.

Tornadoes destroyed 12-15 houses and about 100 individual houses were completely destroyed. The roof of a school and high school was blown away and power lines were broken.

The ancient trees of their age, centuries old, have been knocked down by strong winds and poured into houses and vehicles. In a horrifying scene, a large mobile home was tilted.

Swirling in Mapleton is one of the few tornadoes that occurred in Iowa state over the weekend. The National Weather Agency also confirmed 4 other small tornadoes near Early and Nemaha towns, causing damage to some houses.

Iowa Governor Terry Branstad has declared a disaster in Mapleton, allowing the state to spend money to deal with the aftermath of the tornado.

Photos from above show a large area of ​​the town of Mapleton destroyed.

Many houses are flattened after tornadoes.

Furniture of a house scattered everywhere.

Trees fell down, poured into houses.

About 500-600 people had to evacuate.