'He said run! and we ran': Iowa tornado ravages Marshalltown downtown. State of emergency declared

Show Caption Hide Caption Drone video shows extent of tornado damage in Marshalltown Drone video shows the extent of the damage around the square and coliseum after a tornado ripped through Marshalltown.

MARSHALLTOWN, Ia. — Amy Halter was about to leave work Thursday when a co-worker looked out the window and saw a tornado rumbling toward the Marshall County Courthouse across the street from her work in downtown Marshalltown.

“He said ‘Run!’ and we ran,” said Halter, who works at a law office in the Masonic Temple building on Marshalltown’s downtown square.

City officials declared a state of emergency Thursday and told people to stay out of downtown, which was heavily damaged by a tornado that struck around 4:55 p.m.

The National Weather Service received reports of “catastrophic damage,” including overturned vehicles, tops of buildings “gone,” toppled trees and downed power lines.

Marshalltown police Capt. Brian Batterson said he didn’t know of any reports of fatalities or serious injuries there.

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Among the buildings damaged was the Marshall County Courthouse in the center of downtown. Part of its roof, including a portion of the clock tower, was torn off by the tornado.

Nearby City Hall was heavily damaged, as were many city vehicles and police cars in a parking lot.

UnityPoint-Marshalltown hospital also received structural damage, said Amy Varcoe, UnityPoint spokeswoman.

None of the 40 patients at the hospital nor any of its staff was injured by the tornado. All were transferred to hospitals in Waterloo and Grundy Center, she said.

The hospital’s emergency room was being used as a triage and had 10 patients, Varcoe said.

Employee Amy Halter said about five people who worked at Moore, McKibben, Goodman & Lorenz law firm took shelter in a stairwell as windows were popping.

“It hit so fast,” Halter said.

She said when she went outside, she saw part of the courthouse’s roof lying on the lawn, glass and brick strewn on sidewalks and streets, and downed street light poles.

“This is the scariest thing I’ve been through — and I have cancer,” Halter said.

Zack Wahl, who works at a personal investment firm on the town square, said he and co-workers took shelter in the building’s basement.

"It really did sound like a freight train," the 34-year-old said. “Our ears were popping from the pressure. You could hear the debris hitting our building, just popping off of it.”

Colton Warnell also likened the sound to an oncoming freight train. The 29-year-old was with family members at his nephew's house near Third Street and East State Street trying to salvage what they could from the damaged building.

"The one nice thing about it is you've got a hell of a breeze," Warnell said outside of the home, which had a hole in its roof and a kitchen full of rubble.

Not far from the house, in the 200 block of East State Steet, Rob and Erin Weatherly were looking at what was left of their building — which houses eight residential apartments and four businesses.

They live on the south side of town but came to the structure after hearing it was destroyed. Erin said she was in "between crying spurts and swearing spurts" following the storm.

Jane Burton, who works at a real estate appraisal business within that building, was also there assessing the "devastation."

"This was my livelihood," she said.

Elizabeth Rickett, 22, a supervisor at Taylor’s Maid-Rite, huddled in a meat cooler at the business with five co-workers as the tornado shredded parts of nearby buildings. Rickett said the building sustained a few broken windows.

Just two blocks away, several buildings were destroyed.

Watch Iowa tornado topple part of Marshall County Courthouse The Marshall County Courthouse in Marshalltown suffered extensive damage when it was hit by a tornado July 19, 2018. WARNING: This video contains language some might find offensive.

When the Maid-Rite workers realized the scope of the disaster, they prepared sacks of sandwiches and took them to the fire station for emergency workers to eat, Rickett said.

Afterward, workers boarded up the sandwich shop’s broken windows. Rickett said the business will reopen in a few days.

An emergency operations center has been opened at the Marshalltown Fire Department, 107 S. First Ave.

The clerk of court office in the courthouse is set to be closed Friday, and all court hearings scheduled for Friday are canceled and will be rescheduled.

Luke Nozicka contributed to this report

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