Iowa State Police confirm fatalities, injuries as tornadoes rip through counties

Millions of people in states from the Great Plains to the Midwest were under the threat of tornadoes Tuesday, including Iowa, where several twisters touched down near Des Moines, causing major damage.

A "devastating" tornado hit the town of Greenfield, Iowa, located southwest of Des Moines, causing fatalities and injuries in the area, Sgt. Alex Dinkla of the Iowa State Patrol said at a news conference Tuesday night.

The Adair County Memorial Hospital team, which serves Greenfield, sustained tornado damage, Dinkla said, but still managed to treat patients and transport some to nearby hospitals for further care.

Search efforts were underway Tuesday night, with officials working to provide a clear and accurate count of those affected, the officer said.

"We believe we have everyone accounted for, but we are conducting extensive searches to be thorough," he said.The National Weather Service had issued tornado watches for parts of Nebraska, Iowa, South Dakota, Missouri, Arkansas, Wisconsin, Illinois, Minnesota, Kansas and Oklahoma through Tuesday night.

Nearly the entire state of Iowa was under a "Particularly Dangerous Situation," according to the National Weather Service, which issued several tornado warnings.

On Tuesday, Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds authorized a proclamation of disaster emergency for 15 counties across the state.

The counties include Adair, Adams, Cass, Clay, Hardin, Harrison, Jasper, Kossuth, Marshall, Montgomery, Page, Palo Alto, Pottawattamie, Tama and Warren.

Several videos obtained by ABC affiliate station WOI in Des Moines, captured a large funnel cloud on the ground in Greenfield.On Tuesday, WOI reporter Dana Searles, surveying the damage in Des Moines, said, "This small community has a big chunk destroyed, but about half of it is still intact. From what I've seen, I'd estimate that maybe 75% of it is near to the ground right now."

READ MORE......