Hugo Minnesota Tornado

Hugo, Minnesota was struck by a terrifying thunderstorms with large pack of hail last May 25, 2008. The National Weather Service rated the tornado in Hugo Minnesota as an EF-3 class and according to the residents, the tornado touched down their town at around 5:30 pm.

The tornado killed one child and damaged dozens of houses. The child was only 2 years old and his sibling and parents were rushed in Regions Hospital because of injuries.

Many emergency team visited the area to look for those who have not been located and measure the damage. There are 20 people missing but it is possible that many of them were in out of town.

An estimated of 300 to 400 homes were evacuated because of these tornado. Residents are worry that their not safe inside of their house because of downed power lines and leaky gas lines. Xcel Energy Company said that there were 800 homes are powerless. The city made an evacuation area at Oneka Elementary School for those who evacuated their homes.

The temperature hit into 80s blended with cooler temperature that made two severe storms. The first storm carried tornadoes and hail and the second was pour of rain, hail and wind. House windows and car windshields were damaged because of baseball-size hail.

State Governor Tim Pawlenty announced that on Monday he's planning to visit the affected areas and to meet his city officials.

The last large reported tornado in Hugo, MN area was in 1965 when an F-4 tornado ripped through the city killing 6 and injuring more than 150 people.

Pictures and Videos:
Hugo Tornado Video - YouTube
Hugo Tornado Pictures - wcco.com

Parkersburg Iowa Tornado After Math

Parkersburg, Iowa was hit by a mile wide tornado last Sunday, May 25, 2008 around 5pm. The National Weather Service ranked the deadly tornado as EF5. It is announced that Iowa has seen another strongest tornado after 30 years.

The tornado tore apart almost half of the town with a wind speed of 200 miles per hour it destroyed schools, restaurants, banks, homes and even killing seven people. Dozens of people in northeastern Iowa was injured.

According to the Federal Emergency Management Agency and Iowa Homeland Security and Emergency Management the estimated amount of total damage of these tornado was around $5.8 million. Governor Culver and President Bush have issued disaster declaration for the state.

Hundreds of people was also gave their hands in helping victims. A group of volunteer teams arrived on the area to clean up. The owner of Disaster Recovery Solutions, Ta Agoglia gave five teams to helps cleaning up the road for free. Red Cross and Volunteer workers also gave Iowans relief food and clothes.

Iowa's first lady Mari Culver visited the affected area and talked to the volunteer workers about the cleaning effort. She said "There are signs and symbols of hope all around, and that makes the recovery a little easier”.

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Credit for NWS Des Moines

Suffolk Virginia Tornado Outbreak Recap

It's only been a few months since the beginning of 2008, but in that short span of time nature have already caused widespread destruction and severe grief in the form of several killer tornadoes in the US. In February alone there were at least 50 tornadoes, 11 of them earning the label "killer". Tennessee was the hardest hit state, with a total of 32 tornado-related deaths. Other severely affected areas include Arkansas with 13 deaths, Kentucky with seven, and Alabama with six. There were also several indirect fatalities, as well as extensive infrastructure damage and many incidents of serious injuries.

A month earlier, there were at least six tornado-related deaths. One of them was a man who died from several injuries incurred during a tornado attack. He died three weeks after the disaster, in a hospital, on his 100th birthday. Two were composed of an elderly woman and her daughterm whose mobile home were destroyed by an EF-2 tornado. There are a few other deaths and several injuries.

More recently, in April, three tornadoes devastated Suffolk, Virginia, with one of them leaving behind a 25-mile trail of destruction. The National Weather Service and meteorologists labeled this tornado a "major" one--and why shouldn't they? All over Suffolk, smashed homes, tossed cars, and downed power lines littered the streets, mixed with the sad faces of people who were affected. Apart from structural damage, at least 200 people were injured, and an additional 18 more in Colonial Heights.

Bryan Jackson, a meteorologist, estimated the monster tornado's speed at 86-110mph. It was so strong that the tin roof of one building was rolled up like a sardine can, and its windows were blown out and furniture was all over the place. Another building completely lost its second story, while a resident hid in the first-floor bathroom. Several other houses were completely ripped from their foundations.

Throughout the day, buses carried residents to safe areas, steering clear of debris like power lines and tree limbs. While several inconveniences like widespread power outages took place, there have been no reported fatalities yet, thankfully, and this is probably due to the preventive measures taken. Like Chris Jones, Suffolk ex-mayor said, it could have been much worse.