Tornado stuns Iowa town but residents say they'll rebuild

Debris lies on the ground as residents clean up after a tornado swept through Bondurant, Iowa, Thursday, July 19, 2018. A flurry of tornadoes swept through central Iowa Thursday afternoon, flattening buildings and damaging the courthouse in Marshalltown and hitting an agricultural machinery plant in Pella as people were working. (Brian Powers/The Des Moines Register via AP)

Damage to production plants at Vermeer Corp., a farm and construction equipment manufacturer in Pella, Iowa, is seen in an aerial view, Thursday, July 19, 2018, after a tornado went through the area. (Rodney White/The Des Moines Register via AP)

Structures throughout Marshalltown were hit by the Thursday afternoon tornado but some of the worst damage was to the historic courthouse and brick buildings that line the city's quaint town square. For years, officials and property owners have slowly worked to spruce up the buildings, only to see them devastated in minutes.

"Since 2002 we've spent $50 million in building renovations and now to see these, I'm just sick," said Jenny Etter, executive director of the Marshalltown Central Business District, a nonprofit group. "We were making giant strides in restoring the downtown so this is really devastating to us because we were on a roll. These buildings were beautiful."

A worker cleans up debris from the tornado damaged Marshall County Courthouse's tower Thursday, July 19, 2018, in Marshalltown, Iowa. Several buildings were damaged by a tornado in the main business district in town including the historic courthouse. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall)

A local resident runs past a tornado-damaged building on Main Street, Thursday, July 19, 2018, in Marshalltown, Iowa. Several buildings were damaged by a tornado in the main business district in town including the historic courthouse. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall)

At the 132-year-old courthouse, a blue tarp flapped over a gaping hole atop the clock tower after the cupola tumbled to the ground.

Local officials promised to rebuild, but some residents were too shocked to make plans.

Local residents walk past a tornado-damaged building on Main Street, Thursday, July 19, 2018, in Marshalltown, Iowa. Several buildings were damaged by a tornado in the main business district in town including the historic courthouse. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall)

A local resident rides his bike past a toppled street sign on Main Street, Thursday, July 19, 2018, in Marshalltown, Iowa. Several buildings were damaged by a tornado in the main business district in town including the historic courthouse. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall)

Crystal Jensen, tears running down her face, said the storm passed in just three minutes, but it left her house in ruins and blew away photos and a bracelet from her father.

"I just lost my dad two months ago and this happened," she said. "I'm kind of at a loss."

Terri Shetler, owner of an embroidery shop on the town square, was digging out her 2017 Toyota Sienna, missing a front quarter panel, windows blown out and filled with mud, shingles and wood slivers.

"I'm pretty shaken. I came out and saw the courthouse and all this," she said. "But it can be replaced."

Roy Schweinebart, of Marshalltown, Iowa, shovels bricks from a tornado-damaged building near Main Street, Thursday, July 19, 2018, in Marshalltown, Iowa. Several buildings were damaged by a tornado in the main business district in town including the historic courthouse. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall)

A local resident leaps over rubble from a tornado damaged building, Friday, July 20, 2018, in Marshalltown, Iowa. Several buildings were damaged Thursday evening by a tornado in the main business district in town including the historic courthouse. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall)

The tornado that hit Marshalltown was among a flurry of unexpected twisters that swept through central Iowa on Thursday, injuring at least 17 people and flattening buildings in three cities.

The National Weather Service said Friday that at least five tornadoes and likely more struck. Meteorologist Jeff Johnson said it will take days to determine their strength and total number.

A tarp covers the top of the tornado damaged Marshall County Courthouse, Friday, July 20, 2018, in Marshalltown, Iowa. Several buildings were damaged Thursday evening by a tornado in the main business district in town including the historic courthouse. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall)

Vehicles are covered in rubble from a tornado damaged building, Friday, July 20, 2018, in Marshalltown, Iowa. Several buildings were damaged Thursday evening by a tornado in the main business district in town including the historic courthouse. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall)

Marshalltown, a city of 27,000, was hit hardest. Officials said 10 people were injured and at least 28 people were relocated to an emergency shelter.

About 200 workers from several states were scrambling to replace 500 utility poles and restore power to thousands of customers, said Alliant Energy spokesman Justin Foss. Natural gas service remains shut down in part of the city, he said.

The local hospital will be closed for an undetermined period after the building was damaged and 43 patients were taken to nearby communities. The hospital emergency and urgent care services were moved for now to another building in Marshalltown.

Jenny Etter, of Marshalltown, Iowa, surveys tornado damaged businesses on Main Street, Friday, July 20, 2018, in Marshalltown, Iowa. Several buildings were damaged Thursday evening by a tornado in the main business district in town including the historic courthouse. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall)

A flag sits in rubble in front of tornado damaged building on Main Street, Friday, July 20, 2018, in Marshalltown, Iowa. Several buildings were damaged Thursday evening by a tornado in the main business district in town including the historic courthouse. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall)

Tornadoes also ripped through the central Iowa cities of Pella and Bondurant, damaging homes and a factory.

Gov. Kim Reynolds toured the cities Friday and then said she'd signed proclamations that would immediately provide help from state agencies, including providing dump trucks to remove debris and asbestos removal.

A local resident looks inside a tornado damaged building, Friday, July 20, 2018, in Marshalltown, Iowa. Several buildings were damaged Thursday evening by a tornado in the main business district in town including the historic courthouse. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall)

Utility workers repair downed power lines, Friday, July 20, 2018, in Marshalltown, Iowa. Several buildings were damaged Thursday evening by a tornado in the main business district in town including the historic courthouse. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall)

"This is the widest area and the most destruction," she said in Marshalltown. "Multiple buildings and facilities. It's just unbelievable when you take a look at the devastation and destruction that we see."

In Pella, seven people suffered minor injuries when a tornado hit the agricultural machinery maker Vermeer Manufacturing, scattering huge sheets of metal through a parking lot and leaving one building with a gaping hole.

Terri Shetler, of Marshalltown, Iowa, removes debris surrounding her tornado damaged van, Friday, July 20, 2018, in Marshalltown, Iowa. Several buildings were damaged Thursday evening by a tornado in the main business district in town including the historic courthouse. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall)

The National Weather Service confirmed it was an EF3 tornado, with winds about 144 mph.

Several homes were destroyed in Bondurant.

HONG KONG (AP) — Reporters Without Borders said Wednesday that one of its representatives was denied entry into Hong Kong, calling it a “new decline” in the city’s press freedoms.

According to the group, its Taipei-based staffer Aleksandra Bielakowska was stopped at the airport by immigration officers. She was detained, questioned and had her belongings searched three times before she was denied entry, said the group, also known by its French acronym RSF.

“This action by the Hong Kong authorities, unprecedented for RSF, marks a new decline in the already poor press freedom climate in the territory,” RSF said in a statement.

Bielakowska was to meet journalists and attend a hearing at the trial of Jimmy Lai, the media tycoon and founder of the now-defunct Apple Daily newspaper who is facing national security charges.

The Immigration Department did not comment when contacted after business hours.

Rebecca Vincent, RSF’s director of campaigns, said the group had “never experienced such blatant efforts by authorities to evade scrutiny of court proceedings in any country.”

A major crackdown on dissent has taken place in Hong Kong since the massive anti-government protests in 2019. After Beijing imposed a new national security law on the city, dozens of pro-democracy activists have been arrested and charged. Also, electoral laws have been overhauled to ensure that only “patriots” loyal to Beijing can run for office.

Police have also frozen assets and raided the newsrooms of pro-democracy media outlets, eventually forcing them to cease operations. In March, Hong Kong lawmakers approved the Article 23 security bill, which includes maximum penalties of life imprisonment for offences such as treason and insurrection.

Two former Stand News editors are expected to hear a verdict in their case this month after being charged under a colonial-era sedition law, and in March, U.S.-funded Radio Free Asia said that its Hong Kong bureau has been closed because of safety concerns under the new national security law.

Once seen as a bastion of media freedom in Asia, Hong Kong has since plummeted in press freedom rankings. The semi-autonomous city currently ranks 140th out of 180 countries in RSF’s World Press Freedom Index. In 2002, Hong Kong was ranked 18th.

FILE - A lawmaker holds a copy of the proposed Safeguarding National Security Bill at the Legislative Council in Hong Kong, March 19, 2024. The United States sees Hong Kong's new national security law as a tool to potentially silence dissent both at home and abroad, but has tread carefully so far in responding, a disappointment to those fighting for democracy and freedoms in the Chinese territory. (AP Photo/Louise Delmotte, File)