PLEASANT HILL, Iowa — At least 10 tornadoes touched down in Iowa on Friday, April 26, according to preliminary National Weather Service reports.
"Damage to trees and homes has been reported in multiple counties from Crawford to Union and Ringgold up to around Polk and Jasper Counties," NWS Des Moines shared on X, formerly known as Twitter.
In Pleasant Hill, just east of Des Moines, a confirmed tornado was on the ground by around 9 p.m. Friday.
Dozens of families woke up Saturday morning to extensive, widespread damage in the neighborhoods they love. Trees ripped in half, large pieces of debris scattered across yards and homes in disrepair.
Pleasant Hill Fire Chief Jamie Xayavong said in a Saturday morning press conference that one person was injured and taken to the hospital due to the severe weather.
The storms damaged at least 18 homes in Pleasant Hill, and several roads are still closed in the area.
Adam and Sarah Vang and their 7-month-old weathered the surprisingly quick storm in their basement.
"Me and my wife went downstairs, you just hear loud crashes … and then next thing you know, two minutes and that's it," Adam Vang said.
A tree hit the Vangs' roof during the height of the storm. But rebuilding, Adam said, is a community effort in the Des Moines metro.
"The community got together and we all kind of helped each other out and stuff … we had all kinds of friends and family helping each other out, and it's just a great thing," Adam Vang said.
At a Pleasant Hill mobile home park, with hundreds of residents, a scary scene as the tornado swept right over peoples' homes, they told Local 5 News.
"I've lived here 21 years, and this is, besides derecho that got it good, but not like this," recalled resident Jackie Richman.
Mike Linn, who lives in a mobile home, added, "I thought when I got to the house on the corner I was going to have a heart attack. I was literally scared to see one of our vehicles."
Kids took cover under beds and inside bath tubs, Donna Royse, another resident, told Local 5.
Pleasant Hill resident Mary Kay Buchacker told Local 5 about surviving Friday's storm.
"I was just praying that my house would be okay, and that'd we'd all be okay," she said.
Rescue groups and tree service companies from far and wide joined the ongoing cleanup efforts.
MidAmerican Energy's Kathryn Kunert said that, at the height of the storm, 10,000 customers lost power.
You can view the full forecast here. A full list of storm reports from the National Weather Service is available at this link.
Local 5 will update this story as more information becomes available. Download the We Are Iowa app or subscribe to Local 5's "5 Things to Know" email newsletter for the latest.
