Muscatine Tornado Another Test of IAMU Mutual Aid

The month of June did not arrive in a pleasant way for the city of Muscatine, and its neighboring communities of Fruitland and Grandview. On June 1 the cities suffered major damage from a tornado that left a 16-mile long stretch of damage – eight miles of which were in Muscatine alone. The twister packed winds estimated at 136 – 140 miles per hour, giving it a ranking of F2, or "Significant Tornado" on the Fujita scale of tornado strength.

Although – miraculously – there were no serious injuries or deaths in the noon-hour tornado, the cities were left with major damage to utilities and other infrastructure. Muscatine Power and Water (MPW) sustained heavy damage to its electrical and communication transmission and distribution system, which serves all three communities. MPW also lost power to all of its water wells, rendering them inoperable.

As a member of IAMU, MPW took advantage of the association’s mutual aid program, and received assistance from the City of Ames, Cedar Falls Utilities, and the cities of Wilton, Durant and Tipton. IAMU associate member, The L.E. Meyer Co., also assisted with rebuilding transmission facilities. Due to the efforts of MPW employees and the outside resources, all of MPW’s customers who were able to have electricity saw it reconnected by June 3. The majority of MPW’s communications customers also had that service restored by June 3. In Fruitland, MPW communication customers had cable TV and internet service back up and running by June 7.

Utility costs associated with tornado damage are still being calculated, according to MPW.