Poweshiek, Jasper, Tama and Washington Counties are among 20 Iowa  counties that have been declared disaster areas after Monday’s (8/10) storms.  Not only were power lines and trees knocked down by the storm’s winds, but crops were also damaged.  State Agriculture Secretary Mike Naig says some of the corn that was flattened by Monday’s storm will bounce back, but it’s anybody’s guess as to what percentage of damaged Iowa crops may be harvested. Grain bins, silos and elevators were damaged as well, so losses extend to the 2019 crop.

“Tens of millions of bushels of commercial grain storage and millions of on-farm grain storage was impacted, destroyed or severely damaged,”

Naig says localized crop losses in central and east central Iowa fields that were flattened by Monday’s storm will be severe, but it’s too soon to estimate the value of crop losses in those high damage areas. Naig says some livestock barns were damaged, too, but there have not yet been reports that hogs, cattle or poultry were killed in the storm.

As of 5am Wednesday (8/12), over 1400 MidAmerican Energy customers in Jasper County were still without power, with customers in Mahaska, Poweshiek, Keokuk and Monroe Counties also waiting to have their electricity restored.