4 dead, 40 injured as tornado hits Boy Scout camp

[HURAKAN]

4 dead, 40 injured as tornado hits Boy Scout camp
By TIMBERLY ROSS – 2 hours ago

BLENCOE, Iowa (AP) — A tornado tore through a Boy Scout camp in the remote hills of western Iowa on Wednesday, killing at least four people and injuring 40, and setting off a frantic search to reach others in the piles of debris and downed trees.

Thomas White, a scout supervisor, said he dug through the wreckage of a collapsed fireplace to reach victims in a building where many scouts sought shelter.

"A bunch of us got together and started undoing the rubble from the fireplace and stuff and waiting for the first responders," White told KMTV in Omaha, Neb. "They were under the tables and stuff and on their knees, but they had no chance."

A search and rescue team deployed after the 6:35 p.m. twister had to cut their way through branches during a lightning storm to reach the camp where the 93 boys, ages 13 to 18, and 25 staff members were attending a weeklong leadership training camp.

"All of the buildings are gone; most of the tents are gone; most of the trees are destroyed," Lloyd Roitstein, president of the Boy Scouts of Mid-America Council, told CNN. "You've got 1,800 acres of property that are destroyed right now."

Taylor Willoughby, 13, of Bellevue, Neb., said several scouts were getting ready to watch a movie when someone screamed that there was a tornado. Everyone in the building hunkered down, he said, but windows were breaking.

He said he saw another scout with his head split open.

"It was a pretty gruesome image," Taylor said.

Iowa Gov. Chet Culver said three people were unaccounted for, but a spokesman for the rescuers, Russ Lawrenson, said all the victims had been found.

The weather service had issued two warnings minutes before the tornado hit, Culver said, but it wasn't clear whether the camp had sirens.

"Based on what we were seeing on radar it looked like it could have been a very powerful tornado," said Daniel Nietfeld with the National Weather Service.

At least 40 people who were injured in the storm were being taken to area hospitals, said Iowa Homeland Security spokeswoman Julie Tack.

Lawrenson, of the Mondamin Fire Department, initially said most of the kids who were hurt had been hiking when the tornado hit, but later said he could no longer confirm the victims' whereabouts.

The ranch about 40 miles north of Omaha, Neb., includes hiking trails through narrow valleys and over steep hills, a 15-acre lake and a rifle range.

The camp was being secured by the National Guard and police.

Gayle Jessen of Fremont, Neb., said her 19-year-old son Zach is a staff leader at the camp. He called his parents to say he had a bruise on an arm and was being treated at a hospital.

"I'm so relieved my son is OK," Jessen said. She said her husband was headed to the hospital to pick up their son.

Lawrenson said parents will be reunited with their children at a community center in nearby Little Sioux.

David Hunt, chairman of the Mid-America Boy Scout Council's Goldenrod District, which covers several eastern Nebraska counties, said he believed the boys were from eastern Nebraska and western Iowa.

The tornado touched down as Iowa's eastern half grappled with flooding in several of its major cities. The storm threatened to stretch Iowa's emergency response teams even further.

Tack said officials were confident that the state's emergency response teams could handle the crisis because western Iowa had been largely unaffected by the recent flooding.

Tornadoes also touched down in central Kansas, southern Minnesota and eastern Nebraska.

A line of tornadoes has caused widespread damage across central Kansas. A tornado caused significant damage in Manhattan and Kansas State University, tossing cars and destroying several businesses.

At least one person was injured in Chapman, where part of the roof of the high school gymnasium was torn off, emergency officials said.

A tornado ripped a house from its foundation, leaving a bathtub protruding from a back wall near Fulda, Minn., 140 miles southwest of Minneapolis. A woman inside at the time suffered a knee injury.

Another struck a farm near Springfield, Minn., causing extensive damage to outbuildings, but no injuries to people or livestock.

There were no immediate reports of damage from the Nebraska twisters, though a lightning strike knocked out radar at the National Weather Service's office in Valley, about 30 miles northwest of Omaha.

From Wisconsin to Missouri, officials in the storm-ravaged Midwest on Wednesday were fortifying levees with sandbags, watching weakened dams and rescuing residents from rising water.

But Iowa was bearing the brunt of it. Inmates in black-and-white striped uniforms were rescued from a jail by boat as the raging Cedar River flooded Vinton and forced evacuations in Waterloo.

"Everything is flooded — everything is up to knee-high," said Patrice Calhoun, of Waterloo, Iowa, who rolled up her pants and waded through water to get home Wednesday morning. "You could actually swim in it."

Officials in Wisconsin were monitoring dams and high water in Indiana burst a levee, flooding a vast stretch of farmland. In Minnesota and North Dakota, strong winds closed a highway and even sent a cow into the air, a witness said.

Along the Mississippi River in Missouri and Illinois, the National Weather Service was predicting the worst flooding in 15 years. Outlying areas could be inundated, but most of the towns are protected by levees and many low-lying property owners were bought out after massive flooding in 1993, officials said.

In southeastern Illinois, floodwaters knocked out the water supply to Lawrenceville, a city of 4,600, and to a nearby state prison Wednesday morning. Officials said it remained unclear what made the city's water main stop working and they would have to wait for floodwaters to recede find the problem.

On the East Coast, officials revealed the weekend heat wave had claimed 17 lives. Most of the victims were elderly. Eight died in Philadelphia of heat-related causes, six others in New York City, two in Maryland and one in the Philadelphia suburb of Pottstown.

[Stephanie]

I saw someone being interviewed on the news this morning and he pretty much said that the ones that died were scouts that sought shelter near the fireplace. He said that they never had a chance.

[cag1953]

I don't like hearing stuff like this.I have a grandson that's going on a weeklong trip with the scouts in the next week or two(North Carolina I think). I always worry if I hear of storms in the area.

[Scott_inVA]

I don't like hearing stuff like this.I have a grandson that's going on a weeklong trip with the scouts in the next week or two(North Carolina I think). I always worry if I hear of storms in the area.

Hi All

Along with running Mid-AtlanticWX.com and the occasional storm chase outing, I actually am employed by the Boy Scouts of America. Obviously, June-early August is camp season for us. While not affiliated with a Scout camp in NC, perhaps I can belay a little of your concern. As the media has shown, the Scouts and leaders at the Mid-America Scout council camp showed astounding calm and skill in dealing with an approaching tornado and aftermath.

Every Boy Scout resident camp has well-trained senior leadership and devotes hours orienting staff how to plan, prepare and execute a camp disaster plan. Each camp director spends one week at "camp school", learning how to manage tragic circumstances as we've seen this week. That doesn't stop SVRs to TORs but it ensures Boy Scouts at camp are supervised by well vetted and trained leaders.

I'm involved with weather and disaster preparedness at our local camp and feel confident my 16 year old son is in capable hands during his week at camp.

I'm sure your grandson will have a great week at camp and if there's severe weather he too will be in good hands

Scott
Mid-Atlantic WX.com
Lexington, VA

[HarlequinBoy]

My brother is going to scout camp somewhere in the Ozarks on Sunday. I'm not worried though. He'll have a good time. It's really sad about those kids though.

[southerngale]

Scott, do they not keep weather radios at the camp? I believe a Scout spotted the tornado... just wondering if there was a tornado warning. I don't think it would have mattered much, given their location though.

Such a tragic event.

[Scott_inVA]

Scott, do they not keep weather radios at the camp? I believe a Scout spotted the tornado... just wondering if there was a tornado warning. I don't think it would have mattered much, given their location though.

Such a tragic event.

Hi, Yes, camps that are able to receive NOAA weather radio have a "SAME" radio. My Council's camp is in a mountainous area with unreliable wx radio reception so guess who has NWS WWAs go off on their cell phone 24/7 for the County the camp is located in

I've been in disaster mitigation review meeting today and haven't seen much media but there was a red box out there and I believe a Tornado Warning was in effect at the time the TOR came in. I did hear some Scouts were taking cover and saw it approach. Amazing how well they responded; I love severe weather but seeing an EF-3 come at me...wow...don't know if I'd do better than they did!

[brunota2003]

Scott, do they not keep weather radios at the camp? I believe a Scout spotted the tornado... just wondering if there was a tornado warning. I don't think it would have mattered much, given their location though.

Such a tragic event.

According to an article I read, they were indeed listening to Weather Radios:


BLENCOE, Iowa - When the howling winds finally died down, the Boy Scouts — true to their motto, "Be Prepared" — sprang into action.

Putting their first-aid training to use, they applied tourniquets and gauze to the injured. Some began digging victims from the rubble of a collapsed chimney. And others broke into an equipment shed, seized chainsaws and other tools, and started clearing fallen trees from a road.

Dozens of the Scouts, ages 13 to 18, were hailed for their bravery and resourcefulness Thursday, the morning after a twister flattened their camp in Iowa and killed four boys.

"There were some real heroes at this Scout camp," Gov. Chet Culver said, adding that he believes the Scouts saved lives while they waited for paramedics to cut through the trees and reach the camp a mile into the woods.

The 93 boys, all elite Scouts attending a weeklong leadership training session, had taken part in a mock emergency drill with 25 staff members just a day before the twister hit.

"They knew what to do, they knew where to go, and they prepared well," said Lloyd Roitstein, an executive with the Mid-America Council of the Boy Scouts of America.

Killed were Aaron Eilerts, 14, of Eagle Grove, Iowa, and Josh Fennen, 13, Sam Thomsen, 13, and Ben Petrzilka, 14, all of Omaha, Neb. Roitstein said all four had taken shelter in a building that was leveled, and all of them were found near its collapsed stone chimney. The governor said the cause of death had not been determined.

At least a dozen people remained hospitalized Thursday with everything from bruises to spine and head injuries.

About 100 people, many clutching candles, gathered for a flag ceremony and vigil at a World War II monument in Omaha's Memorial Park on Thursday night.

Some at the gathering wiped tears from their eyes and Scout leaders weaved through the crowd asking "Did you have any there?"

At the campsite, a pickup truck had been tossed on its side. Tree limbs rested on top of the Scouts' tents. Trees were flattened. And the one-room multipurpose building where the Scouts died was a pile of cinderblocks and chimney stones.

Boy Scout officials said the campers had heard the severe weather alerts but decided not to leave because a storm was on the way.

"They were watching the weather and monitoring with a weather radio, listening for updates," said Deron Smith, a national spokesman for the organization. "The spot they were at was the lowest spot of camp. It was deemed to be the safest place."

A group of Scouts who had set out on a hike had returned to the camp before the storm hit, Smith said...

For the rest of the article, and the source, here:
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080613/ap_ ... Z1J9tvzwcF

[brunota2003]

Here is a bunch of info on the four killed:

4 victims of deadly Iowa tornado were model youth

By SOPHIA TAREEN, Associated Press Writer Thu Jun 12, 7:02 PM ET

OMAHA, Neb. - The four boys killed when a tornado hit rural western Iowa on Wednesday were among the elite of the Boy Scouts of America, hand-picked by their scoutmasters to attend the high-adventure camp.

Their goal at the Little Sioux Scout Ranch was training to someday become leaders within one of the nation's largest youth organizations.

Here is a look at the four teens:

__

Sam Thomsen left for the Iowa camp just days shy of his 14th birthday.

The Omaha teen loved the outdoors and sports — watching University of Nebraska football and playing baseball and basketball. He even had a goodhearted rivalry with his pastor, a die-hard Arkansas fan.

"He would badger me about the Huskers," said Pastor Jim White of the Southwest Church of Christ in Omaha. "We had a good time with each other. Sam was a vibrant, great kid."

The son of Sharon and Larry Thomsen was home-schooled. He had two older sisters: one who recently graduated from high school and another who attends Wheaton College in Illinois.

The family, who declined to be interviewed, were longtime members of the church. Thomsen was active in Sunday school and had recently attended a national youth church program. After returning, he delivered a sermon at the church.

"Sam was the light in the room, in every room. He was the joy," said Franklin Wood, the church's youth minister. "He always kinda had this mischievous smile and he would come up behind you and tap you on the shoulder and you knew it was Sam."

His birthday would have been Monday.

__

Aaron Eilerts was a young Renaissance man.

The 14-year-old sang, played the flute, ran track, played football, cooked and loved to sew.

Whenever a teacher at Robert Blue Middle School in Eagle Grove, Iowa, had a baby, she knew she would get a handmade blanket from Eilerts. He also sewed colorful pillow cases to send to hospitals and made fleece blankets for dogs at an animal shelter.

"He had endless talents," said Dawn Sievertsen, the school's principal. "His way of having fun was to do good things for people. He embodied everything scouting was."

When a windstorm downed a tree on the school's playground, the slight teenager started chopping it up so it would be easier for city workers to remove, Sievertsen recalled.

His acts of kindness and artistic talent gained him recognition. He was runner-up in a statewide competition for character, and designed his school's yearbook cover in 2006.

An only child, Eilerts loved Elvis Presley and sang the Star Spangled Banner solo before school sporting events.

"He was a wonderful kid and a fantastic individual," Sievertsen said. "Aaron is the kind of kid you want to honor."

__

Josh Fennen had an uncanny ability to understand knots.

Learning to intertwine ropes, like sailors and outdoorsmen, has long been a cornerstone for the Boy Scouts. But the 13-year-old from Omaha tackled the intricate "monkey's fist" and "Tom fool's" knots with no problems.

"He could look at a knot and untie and tie it in 20 or 30 seconds," said his scoutmaster, Doug Rothgeb. "He's the only boy that could challenge the dads."

Fennen, who had one sister, had recently finished eighth grade at Andersen Middle School in Omaha.

At school, he sang in the choir and was known among teachers for his natural leadership ability.

"He was one of those students who was just willing to jump in and take charge," his principal Jeff Alfrey said. "He always had his mind working in a lot of different creative ways to get something done."

Like his father, Fennen loved trains and was welding a model that was big enough for him to ride in.

"He was one of the smartest and talented kids I've met," Rothgeb said. "We just wish he would have been here awhile longer."

__

Nearly all of Ben Petrzilka's young life revolved around Mary Our Queen Church in Omaha.

The 14-year-old attended services with his parents and younger brother there. He went to the affiliated Catholic school since kindergarten. And it was also where Boy Scout Troop 448 held its meetings.

"He loved being in the Scouts. He was very proud of his involvement," said Kayleen Wallace, the school's principal. "We would have special days where you didn't have to wear your uniform. Ben always wanted to be wearing that Scout uniform."

Petrzilka was a quiet young man who loved the outdoors; he loved spending time camping, hunting and fishing with his father.

Family members and teachers say Petrzilka was happy-go-lucky and always had a smile on his face.

"He was the meaning of joy," said John Nordmeyer, an uncle. "I had never seen him down, never seen him angry."

Petrzilka would have started eighth grade in the fall.

"He lived his Catholic faith every day," Wallace said. "He was always very kind, never had a cross word to say to anyone or about anyone."

Source:
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080612/ap_ ... erm61vzwcF

[TexasStooge]

This is turning in to a (hate to say it) Katrina-like situation with the tornado damage and flooding.

My condolences to their families, friends, and the troops.

[KWT]

Its very sad to hear this, is this the EF3 tornado if so thats very bad news.

[liveweatherman]

This is the heart-warming part..

Culver paid tribute to the Scouts who came to the aid of their injured colleagues, describing them as "the real heroes of this story".
"I'm very proud of the young men who were up there who were able to help the Scouts in need," he told TODAY. "I think lives were saved."

Those boy scouts that died has their future,but it was just gone and they were too young..ages 13 and 14..so sad..my prayers and thoughts to the family of the victims..

[cag1953]

I don't like hearing stuff like this.I have a grandson that's going on a weeklong trip with the scouts in the next week or two(North Carolina I think). I always worry if I hear of storms in the area.

Hi All

Along with running Mid-AtlanticWX.com and the occasional storm chase outing, I actually am employed by the Boy Scouts of America. Obviously, June-early August is camp season for us. While not affiliated with a Scout camp in NC, perhaps I can belay a little of your concern. As the media has shown, the Scouts and leaders at the Mid-America Scout council camp showed astounding calm and skill in dealing with an approaching tornado and aftermath.

Every Boy Scout resident camp has well-trained senior leadership and devotes hours orienting staff how to plan, prepare and execute a camp disaster plan. Each camp director spends one week at "camp school", learning how to manage tragic circumstances as we've seen this week. That doesn't stop SVRs to TORs but it ensures Boy Scouts at camp are supervised by well vetted and trained leaders.

I'm involved with weather and disaster preparedness at our local camp and feel confident my 16 year old son is in capable hands during his week at camp.

I'm sure your grandson will have a great week at camp and if there's severe weather he too will be in good hands

Scott
Mid-Atlantic WX.com
Lexington, VA

Thanks Scott! He's not new to scouting(as a matter of fact his mom told me if he gets everything done,he should make Eagle Scout in the next year).He has been on weeklong hikes in the mountains before and hiked the Grand Canyon 3 or 4 months ago. But,that being said,I still worry when I hear of storms or flooding or such! Guess it's just the mother in me.I know they are in capable hands and have a lot of training between them. I just hate to hear of things like what happened,but they do occassionally happen!Thanks again,it does make me feel better!

[Stephanie]

Thank you Scott for your information. The ironic thing about this is that they had a mock disaster drill the day before, so that was at least fresh in their memory.

[Ptarmigan]

Condolences to their family. I cannot imagine what the parents are going through. They lost a child. If any comfort comes out of it, they died what they loved doing.


I cannot imagine being outside and there is a tornado ravaging your camp. It could of been much worse. The Boy Scouts motto, Be Prepared, helped them and prevented a much worse tragedy.

[southerngale]

Thanks, guys.

And also... hi, Scott! Welcome back for another season of watching the tropics.