‘Something we’ve never seen before’: Minnesota emergency experts aid Iowans hit by tornadoes
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Minnesota first responders and emergency management experts are returning home in waves after lending their time to the community of Greenfield, Iowa, where an EF4 tornado killed four people, injured dozens more and wrecked more than 200 homes.
Last Tuesday, Gov. Tim Walz deployed eight members of the Minnesota All Hazards Incident Management Team to help first responders as recovery began. It’s part of a nationwide mutual aid network of public safety, medical and public works experts and emergency managers who go to the sites of natural disasters, terrorist incidents, train derailments, plane crashes and other large events.
“In Minnesota we’re no strangers to the devastation of tornadoes,” Walz said in a press release. “We know the heartbreak that accompanies the loss of homes and businesses and the necessity of working together to rebuild. In the wake of this storm, we are stepping up to support our neighbors. My heart goes out to the community of Greenfield as they recover.”
Erin Hughes is the emergency manager for Stearns County and has been on the incident management team since 2011. Hughes joined wanting the experience of helping others in bad situations to inform her own planning in Stearns County. She’s seen wildfires, hurricanes and flooding, but Greenfield was her first tornado deployment.
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“We’ve been deployed to many different places around the country to help following disasters. But the level of violence from this storm was like something we've never seen before,” Hughes said in an interview on MPR News’ Morning Edition on Monday.
Each mission gets a tailormade mix of experts, Hughes said. Sometimes she’s in a conference room handling the fallout or staking a tent near the same team members, but the faces are often different. The eight Minnesotans — who included two county emergency managers, a fire chief, two EMS, a police chief and a public safety communications specialist — staggered their arrival last week so there was always a “steady presence.”
Hughes got the call she was going to help around noon on Monday and left Minneapolis within a few hours, returning home Friday afternoon.
“Knowing that we can come and help put a little bit of order to the chaos is certainly rewarding professionally, but also personally,” Hughes said. “Our team coming in, is able to help that local community take that next step forward.”
This time, finding housing for many in the town of about 2,000 people, about 60 miles southwest of Des Moines, was a priority for Hughes. The team also assisted in an emergency operations center, communicating with the public and logistics.
The reception from emergency responders and residents alike was welcoming, Hughes said, which can make it tough to say goodbye. “We met a handful of people … that really talked about the loss and what it meant for them and their community. Those personal stories and making those connections are really, I think, what sticks with us.”
“The devastation in Greenfield is gut-wrenching. But amid all the destruction and debris is a strong community that is kind, caring, resilient and determined to get back on its feet. Being there in the town’s time of need was a humbling experience,” the Minnesota Department of Public Safety’s Jen Longaecker, who was also part of the Minnesota mission, said in an email.
“We learned so much — not only lessons about how to handle an emergency in our own communities, but about what it means to work together and support those who have lost everything.”
Messages of care from around the country and donations are welcome for hard-hit communities, Hughes said upon returning home Friday. At home, creating an emergency plan for yourself and your family in the event of a disaster is the best way to “empower yourself to be as safe as you can.”