Photos: Tornado Demolishes a Small Iowa Town

Cleanup efforts began on Wednesday in Greenfield, Iowa, after a tornado tore through the area on Tuesday.

Powerful storms and at least one tornado ripped through Iowa on Tuesday, killing multiple people and leaving a path of destroyed homes, mangled cars and downed trees.

Greenfield, a city of about 2,000 people roughly 50 miles southwest of Des Moines, was hit hardest. A tornado “devastated a good portion of this town and community,” Sgt. Alex Dinkla of the Iowa State Patrol said Tuesday evening. More than one person in the city was killed in the storm, but the total number of deaths was unclear at midday Wednesday.

Residents and officials in Greenfield, Iowa, searched through rubble for much of Tuesday evening after a tornado hit the town.

Damaging winds and heavy rains affected other areas across the state, and multiple tornadoes were reported in southwest Iowa, as well as several north of Des Moines. Here’s a look at the damage from the storm.

Many houses in Greenfield, Iowa, were destroyed on Tuesday afternoon when a tornado swept through the town.

Residents in Greenfield got their first look at the damage on Tuesday evening.

In Adams County, Iowa, several wind turbines were toppled by the storm.

A curfew was instituted in Greenfield from 10 p.m. Tuesday through 7 a.m. Wednesday as rescue workers searched for victims.

The tornado destroyed houses and mangled trees across Greenfield.

Gov. Kim Reynolds of Iowa issued an emergency disaster proclamation in 15 counties on Tuesday.

Officials were focused on a search-and-rescue operation in Greenfield overnight and into Wednesday.

GJ Write, 15, helped clean up destroyed homes in Greenfield.

A car damaged by debris in Greenfield on Tuesday. Governor Reynolds called the devastation “gut-wrenching” and “horrific” on Wednesday.

Workers brought in heavy equipment and began clearing the debris on Tuesday.

Greenfield residents surveyed the aftermath of the tornado on Tuesday.