CRESTON, Iowa (AP) — The Creston police chief says tornado sirens didn’t sound before a strong storm swept into town, damaging a hospital and community college. Paul Ver Meer says there was no warning before an apparent tornado hit Saturday evening, and the first he knew that the city was at risk came from a call from Greater Regional Medical Center. The hospital sustained roof damage and had its windows blown out by storm. Southwest Community College also suffered damage but the extent wasn’t known.  The school’s website says classes won’t be held there Monday or Tuesday. Ver Meer says Creston was “very lucky” that no one was injured.

DEXTER, Iowa (AP) — A Menlo man has been charged with two counts of vehicular homicide and several other charges in the death of a man found on a gravel road in Dexter.

Mike Beeler, of Menlo (Booking photo courtesy Guthrie Co. Sheriff's Dept.)

 The Iowa Department of Public Safety says 21-year-old Mike Beeler was intoxicated when he drove a tractor that ran down 23-year-old Justin Westfall, of Menlo, during a house party in Dexter. Westfall’s body was found about 4:45 a.m. Saturday. Authorities say Beeler is being held Sunday in the Guthrie County jail on $25,000 bond. In addition to vehicular homicide, Beeler is charged with leaving the scene of a fatal accident, criminal mischief and operating while intoxicated.

THURMAN, Iowa (AP) — One resident says it looks “like World War III” in Thurman following a tornado that damaged at least 75 percent of the homes in the small town. But people are giving thanks because no one died. The only injuries reported are cuts and bruises. Thurman Mayor Rod Umphreys says city officials sounded the tornado sirens six or seven minutes before the twister with 135 mile-per-hour winds swept into town Saturday evening. Residents also received warnings through Code RED, an emergency system used by Fremont County that sends alerts to subscriber cellphones. Umphreys says the combined warnings likely saved lives, as the tornado was shrouded in rain. Larry Hill, who barricaded himself in a closet as the roof was torn from his home, says he’d been paying close attention to weather warnings for days and was as ready as he could be for the storm.

The National Weather Service says the tornado that hit Thurman Saturday night was an EF-2 on the Fujita Scale of winds and destruction. The twister touched down about 2-miles north of Percival and tracked for 10-miles before dissipating about a mile south of Tabor.Officials say the tornado was one-half mile wide.  

Authorities in Creston confirmed late Saturday night that a tornado struck the town, and caused damage to at least two structures. During a press conference, emergency officials said the tornado hit Southwestern Community College just after 7-p.m.  The same tornado or straight line winds, also caused damage to the Greater Regional Medical Center in Creston. The hospital sustained what officials said was “significant damage.” There were reports of injuries, but no reported fatalities as of late Saturday night. Patients at the hospital were transported to Clarke County Hospital in Osceola, about 25 miles away

Creston Mayor Warren Woods says a storm swept through the town of about 7,800 residents between 6:30 and 7 p.m. Saturday, damaging the northwest corner of the community. The Des Moines Register, citing Creston Police Chief Paul Ver Meer, reported more than 100 firefighters, most of them volunteers, as well as state and county disaster crews were combing through wreckage late Saturday night into early this morning, in search of any missing people.  Firefighters switched to a 12-hour rotation to keep up relief efforts through the night. As many as 75 police officers, sheriff’s deputies and state troopers from across central Iowa were said to be on hand maintaining security, directing traffic and assisting in public aid.

THURMAN, Iowa (AP) — Officials say a small western Iowa community has been severely damaged by a possible tornado. Fremont County Emergency Management Director Mike Crecelius told The Associated Press on Saturday that about 75 percent of the town of Thurman was destroyed. He said there were no injuries and no deaths in the town of about 250 people.

Crecelius said the town was on lockdown Saturday night and wasn’t letting anyone in. He said town officials and residents expect to start cleaning up on Sunday. Crecelius said some residents had taken refuge in City Hall, which was the only building in town with power. Others were staying in a shelter, at motels or with relatives. The American Red Cross also set up a shelter at the Fremont-Mills High School, in Tabor, for displaced residents of Thurman.

Just before the storm hit Thurman, five semi tractor-trailers were blown over on Interstate 29. The wreckage slowed traffic on I-29 for several hours. The State Patrol said one trucker was injured, when a rig was blown over in Mills County, as well. It’s not clear how many truckers in all, were injured.

CRESTON, Iowa (AP) — Emergency officials say an Iowa hospital has been damaged as a band of severe weather bears down on the region. Union County Emergency Management Director Jo Anne Duckworth confirmed the Greater Regional Medical Center in Creston had been hit, but did not comment further. Creston Mayor Warren Woods says a storm swept through the town of about 7,800 residents between 6:30 and 7 p.m. Saturday, damaging the northwest corner of the community. Woods wasn’t aware of any injuries, but he also hadn’t yet been briefed on the situation at the hospital. A woman who answered the phone at the hospital said no one was hurt and the staff was working to move patients. It’s not clear where they were being taken. Police and fire officials would not immediately comment.