DES MOINES, Iowa — An EF-1 tornado that passed through Polk County Monday night left damage across a few cities, including Des Moines.
Some of the devastating damages affected one of the state's oldest cemeteries: Glendale Cemetery, off of University Avenue, near Windsor Heights.
Trees were uprooted, and unfortunately as a result, some headstones were also damaged and left covered in dirt and tree branches.
"It's a total disaster, but it's just saddening," explained Des Moines Parks and Recreation Director Ben Page. "This is a place, this is the final resting place for a lot of people. It's supposed to be pristine. It's supposed to be welcoming. It's supposed to never see destruction like this. And here we are."
Monday's tornado also marked the first time the city can remember seeing tornado damage to the Glendale Cemetery.
Among the damaged headstones included those in the veterans section of the cemetery. A large tree collapsed down into the middle of that area.
"These are the men and women who truly gave it all, and to see their monuments destroyed by a natural event, it's just sad," Page told Local 5 News on Tuesday.
The city and volunteers spent Tuesday morning cleaning up the cemetery, and will continue to do so in the next couple days, in hopes to reopening it to the public on Thursday.