Iowa City Tornado

UPDATE 2: Tornado stories and pics from Earthgoat. Also, the NY Times article. Except for the damage, which is extensive, it sounds like things could have been a lot worse.

UPDATE: Coverage from the IC Press-Citizen (thanks to Andrew for the link). The tornado was an F2, and one of 17 that hit Iowa last night, and just one of five that hit Johnson County alone. Burlington St. and Iowa Ave. downtown were hit really hard, as was Riverside Dr.; the roof to the court house is gone, as is the roof to St. Patrick's Church. The important thing is no one seems to be seriously hurt, and for that we can all be thankful.

I know a lot of my friends and the people that read this blog have connections to Iowa City, so I thought I would let everyone know: I just learned that a tornado struck the city earlier tonight, and did a lot of damage. Apparently it went down Riverside Drive, which is where my friend Andrew and I shared an apartment; my understanding is the Dairy Queen across from the apartment was destroyed. I don't know about the apartment or any of the other buildings on that street, but Hillcrest (I think that's the name) was also damaged. I haven't heard about any deaths or serious injuries, thank God. It apparently touched down by the Wal Mart out by the airport, and continued on into Coralville and North Liberty. They're asking people to stay away from Iowa City, and all classes have been cancelled.

I'm going to try and find out as much as I can, and try and get down there if possible. I know the Red Cross is already there, and I'd like to do anything I can.

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