UPDATE: "Scout tornado victims were 13, 14 years old"
Boy Scout leaders said Thursday morning that the tornado that ripped through the camp near Little Sioux in Harrison County in western Iowa killed three 13-year old boys and also a 14-year-old.
Forty-eight people were injured. Injuries ranged from serious head trauma to cuts and bruises.
The identities were to be released at an 8 a.m. briefing today at the Blencoe Community Center that will be conducted by Iowa governor Chet Culver and his counterpart from Nebraska, Dave Heinemann. Later in the day, South Dakota Gov. Mike Rounds will join the group, along with Michael Chertoff, secretary of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.
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There have been so many stories of devastation and suffering due to the storms pummeling the Midwest.
This one is just awful.
If you've ever sent a son to a Boy Scout camp, chances are you've experienced the concern of severe weather hitting the camp while your child is out in a tent.
You can imagine how horrible the uncertainty and the fear must have been for the parents as they tried to find out if their children are safe.
BLENCOE, Iowa -- A tornado tore through a Boy Scout camp in the remote hills of western Iowa on Wednesday, killing at least four people and injuring 40, and setting off a frantic search to reach others in the piles of debris and downed trees.
Most of the injured had been on a hike when the tornado struck, authorities said, leaving them without protection from the deadly winds.
My prayers are with the people at the camp, the scouts' parents, and the loved ones of all those caught in the tornado.
The Des Moines Register reports more details:
A total of 93 youths, aged 14 to 18, and 25 adults were attending the week-long camp at the Little Sioux Scout Ranch, about 40 miles north of Omaha in Iowa’s Loess Hills, when the tornado struck at 6:35 p.m.
It was not immediately known if the fatalities were teens or adults.
Jim Meyer, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Omaha, said a tornado warning for the area was issued at 6:23 p.m.
Rescue personnel, Iowa National Guard soldiers and Scout leaders raced to the 1,800-acre site as the state endured another night of violent and stormy weather.
Julie Tack, a spokeswoman for Iowa Homeland Security, said a search and rescue team had been deployed to the camp. She said the camp was covered with debris and downed trees.
Hal Emas, 14, a Scout from Omaha, said in a telephone interview that the youths were outside. When heavy rains began, between 40 and 50 people gathered in a roof-covered shelter.
He said they heard a siren, then the Scoutmaster shouted, "Under the table!"
"Two seconds later, the walls blew out," Hal said. "It lasted for about 10 seconds. It was really scary."
Hal said he and a friend hung on to a picnic table. "Then I grabbed one of the metal poles that was sticking outside the ground. Everything was destroyed. The whole campsite was destroyed."
He said several youths appeared to be badly hurt.
...Lloyd Roitstein, president of the Boy Scouts of Mid-America Council, told CNN that all the scouts were staying in tents and that the site was destroyed.
“All of the buildings are gone; most of the tents are gone; most of the trees are destroyed,” Roitstein said. “You’ve got 1,800 acres of property that are destroyed right now.”
The camp is owned and operated by the Mid-American Council in Omaha, which covers parts of Nebraska, South Dakota and western Iowa. The Scouts were attending a week-long event called Pahuk Pride, which teaches them leadership skills.
“They were considered some of the best in the area,” Tack said.
...Parents were instructed to go to the Little Sioux Church of Christ for information on their children.
“Parents just don’t know what’s happened to their kids yet,” said Wayne Bahr, the church pastor. “I always try to offer comfort, but it’s so fresh, people are more consumed with getting information right now.”
Four people have died. That's confirmed.
Four families are receiving horrible news. There will be no happy reunions for them, no hugs, no sighs of relief, no tears of joy.
It's a terrible tragedy. My heart goes out to them.
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