GREENFIELD, Iowa — Days after a powerful EF-4 tornado tore through town, killing five people in the area, another round of severe weather impacted the community of Greenfield Friday morning.
It's a lesson in resilience — Local 5 spoke with an insurance agent and landlord who shared concerns about how he, his tenants and the town as a whole will move forward.
"They blew the sirens again. I thought something's gonna happen. I ran out of my house and I looked across the street," Greenfield resident Bill Yount said. "And I was just like ... I can't even explain it in words what I saw."
Tuesday's tornado destroyed three homes owned by Yount. As soon as the storm died down, Yount sprung into action checking in on neighbors and tenants alike.
"So we all ran up and Levi, the dad, was right down there with his two little kids. And he he lifted him up to Jackie, the baby to Jackie, the mother," Yount said. "And then I got the little guy, Leo, and we all ran up to the hospital. And eventually I got a ladder down here to get them out."
After making sure that family was safe, Yount and some others hopped from house to house to help people through the rubble.
"I realized we didn't see Scott, so then we all ran over there and found Scott laying there laying underneath his bed yelling, 'I'm here, I'm here!'"
To Scott's relief, Yount and the others made it so he walked away with just a few bumps and scratches.
"My shins and my back have a bunch of scratches, but my shins and stuff," Scott told Local 5.
By trade, Yount works insurance. In the midst of filling his own claims he's helping people in Greenfield file theirs. And what he's seen so far has made him worried for the city's future
"We have tenants that are probably in their 20s and 30s and most of these people don't have renters insurance, so they have lost everything," he said.
Yount thinks the city needs affordable housing units people can rent or purchase.
"Without them, our town will die," he told Local 5.
For a full list of ways to help the Greenfield community, click here.