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NWS: Mapleton, Iowa tornado was an EF3

By Katie Knapp Schubert

Omaha, NE – The National Weather Service says a tornado that caused significant damage in Mapleton, Iowa, Saturday evening was an EF3, with winds of at least 136 miles per hour.

The tornado damaged more than half of the Monona County town. The Siouxland Chapter of the American Red Cross and Salvation Army volunteers are in Mapleton, doing disaster assessment and providing assistance.

Siouxland chapter spokeswoman Tammie Pech says some areas received significant damage from the three-quarter mile-wide storm. She says Siouxland Chapter volunteers will be in Mapleton for at least a week.

Salvation Army spokeswoman Susan Eustice says volunteers told her the town's south side is heavily damaged. Eustice says Omaha volunteers are back home after going to Mapleton immediately after the storm. Siouxland volunteers remain in Mapleton.

Monona County authorities say 12 to 14 people were injured and no one was killed. Weather Service officials say the tornado was three-quarters of a mile wide at its widest point.