Officials with Southwestern Community College in Creston say classes will resume there today (Wednesday), four days after an EF2 tornado damaged the campus and other parts of town. Terri Higgins, director of marketing and enrollment management, told the Des Moines Register, that the main road leading to the school had been closed and the school had been without power. Most of that road was opened at about 2 p.m. Tuesday, and power was restored Tuesday morning. Higgins said all classes will be held, but some locations have been moved because of the damage.

Three of the four dormitories on campus sustained damage during the storm, forcing 165 students to find accommodations elsewhere, such as a local motel, while others are staying with residents who volunteered to open up their homes. Damage to the college’s facilities were estimated to be in the millions of dollars, according to Higgins. Creston’s Fire Chief Todd Jackson told the Register all streets in the community would be reopened by this morning. Power was restored to most of the town by Tuesday afternoon.

Greater Regional Medical Center in Creston, which lost its roof in the storm and sustained other structural damage, is still only able to treat minor injuries, but officials hope to expand coverage by a little later in the week. No deaths or life-threatening injuries were reported from the tornado, one of five in Iowa on Saturday, along with strong winds and thunderstorms in many other parts of the state.

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Recovery efforts are still in full-swing in the southwest Iowa town of Thurman which was hit by a powerful tornado on Saturday. Hundreds of volunteers turned out to help with the initial clean-up. Red Cross spokeswoman Alyson Roach says her agency’s workers are still in the Fremont County town, lending a hand. “They’re out right now with food trucks serving meals, snacks, making sure people are hydrated,” Roach says. Virtually every home in Thurman suffered some damage from the E-F-2 twister, while 14 houses were demolished and 28 were heavily damaged. The town of about 229 people had no serious injuries reported and no deaths. The Red Cross will continue to serve meals as long as they’re needed and Roach says they’re helping residents who were impacted by the storm.

“We have assessed the damage in the area to determine which houses were hardest hit and we are starting the process of client casework,” Roach says. “We’ll determine the immediate disaster cause needs of families and help them out with food, clothing, shelter, referrals, information, whatever they need to get through the next few days while they’re recovering.” Roach says those clean-up volunteers made a huge difference, evidenced in one example on Sunday, the day after the tornado struck.  “Six o’clock AM, you couldn’t see across the park because it was so littered with tree limbs, debris and insulation,” she says. “By the end of the day, there were kids playing in the playground.”

To make a donation toward the community’s recovery, call 800-Red Cross or visit: “redcross.org”.

(Matt Kelley/Radio Iowa)