Sheriff: 10 homes lost in Tuesday tornado strike
Published 9:14 am Thursday, April 14, 2022
Clean-up continued in force the afternoon of April 13 in Taopi. Herald file photo
Debris was littered everywhere about Taopi, the result of a likely EF2 tornado Tuesday night. Eric Johnson/photodesk@austindailyherald.com
The roof of a building in Taopi lays bare to the cloudy skies Wednesday following Tuesday night’s severe storms which likely delivered an EF2 tornado. Eric Johnson/photodesk@austindailyherald.com
Debris is swept out of the door in a Taopi house the afternoon of April 13 as clean-up continued following the April 12 storms. Herald file photo
Utility workers continued restoring power lines to Taopi Wednesday afternoon. Eric Johnson/photodesk@austindailyherald.com
Debris is wrapped up on a stand of trees on the west edge of Taopi Wednesday. Eric Johnson/photodesk@austindailyherald.com
People continue to pick up the pieces Wednesday afternoon after storms stuck Taopi Tuesday evening, which included a probably EF2 tornado. Eric Johnson/photodesk@austindailyherald.com
A building lies in ruins in Taopi Wednesday afternoon, the results of a probably EF2 tornado Tuesday night that packed over 110 mph winds. Eric Johnson/photodesk@austindailyherald.com
Taopi residents came together quickly in mid-April to help each other with clean-up. Herald file photo
An unattended dog trots past the ruins of a structure in Taopi Tuesday morning. Eric Johnson/photodesk@austindailyherald.com
Debris is tangled in a triee in Taopi, just some of the damaged seen in the community Wednesday following Tuesday night’s storms. Eric Johnson/photodesk@austindailyherald.com
Fallen trees and debris litter the roadside of Highway 56 leading into Taopi Wednesday morning. Eric Johnson/photodesk@austindailyherald.com
A pair of Taopi residents look through damage from a residence in April after a storm producing a EF2 tornado swept through the community. Herald file photo
The “doll house” as it looked the morning after the tornado. Herald file photo
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Another four damaged
A wider picture of the damage leveled on Taopi from Tuesday night’s EF2 tornado is starting to become a little clearer Thursday.
According to Mower County Sheriff Steve Sandvik, of the 24 buildings in the community of over 60, 10 homes are a complete loss.
Another had major damage and three sustained minor damage, leaving only seven homes in Taopi largely undamaged.
“We’re continuing to meet with the residents,” Sandvik said. “The Emergency Management team is meeting with residents, working with the mayor and continuing with a plan for recovery.”
As of Wednesday afternoon, utility crews were still working to reestablish power to Taopi.
Resident Angie Smith said Wednesday morning that the power went out at around 10:45 p.m. Tuesday, just minutes after a tornado was issued for the area. Moments later the storm came rampaging through.
“It was roaring,” she said. “The moment we ran through to the basement we heard windows shattering. We were down in the basement for maybe a minute.”
The National Weather Service out of La Crosse, Wisconsin estimates winds from the tornado that struck Taopi peaked at around 130 mph and was on the ground for a little over seven miles.
Two people were injured and had to be rescued from the basement of their damaged home. They were taken to Mayo Clinic Health Systems-Austin Tuesday night for non-life threatening injuries.
Counting Taopi, the NWS’ survey of Tuesday totals five tornadoes in southeast Minnesota and northeast Iowa. Another two reportedly touched down further south in Iowa. The four other confirmations in our area include:
- An EF1 set down near Spring Valley with max winds of 100 mph. It was on the ground for 2.3 miles.
- An EF1 set down near Brownville, Iowa with max winds of 110 mph. It was on the ground for 2.2 miles.
- An EF1 set down near Riceville, Iowa, with max winds of 100 mph. It was on the ground for 5.3 miles.
- An EF0 set down near Saratoga, Iowa, with max winds of 75 mph. It was on the ground for just under a quarter of a mile.
Sandvik said Wednesday afternoon that a majority of the damage in Mower County from Tuesday night was largely confined to Taopi itself.
“There wasn’t significant damage beyond the Taopi area,” he said. “There were still some limbs and trees down, but nothing like there was in Taopi.”
This round of storms comes almost exactly four months to the day that freak storms rolled through southeast Minnesota on Dec. 15, 2021, causing severe damage to the eastern part of the county, knocking out power in Austin and devastating the small community of Hartland, north of Albert Lea.
That system included a rash of tornadoes and wind gusts as high as 85 mph in places and caused over $500,000 in damage to the county. Many places that were damaged are still coping with the consequences.
It’s a sign for how long lasting the recovery could be for Taopi.
“It will take a long time for these families to recover and move back into their homes,” Sandvik said.
