City closed after severe storm damage

(ABC 6 News) – Rudd, Iowa was one of the hardest-hit communities from Wednesday night’s storms. Several houses had their roofs taken off, sheds tossed or were flat out leveled altogether.

Cody Fox, the assistant chief of Rudd’s fire department said, "We got notified that we had a family trapped in their basement; we had gas leaks going on all over town. That was when I kinda realized it was a lot more than a little bit of wind damage around."

The damage was so significant that farmers, firefighters from other cities and even the HyVee disaster recovery fleet came by for assistance. Trailers were loaded with debris left in the wake of the tornado. Construction companies also took part in scooping up the rubble. Needless to say, they made all the difference.

Ian Puentes who works with Young Construction said, "I think it really shows, you know, how great the community can be sometimes. Help one community that went through some tough times last night."

Some of the buildings destroyed included the public library, houses with varying degrees of damage, and the historical center which was leveled.

The Historical Center kept track of every single family that ever lived in Rudd. Despite the building being gone, the records were saved. And despite the disaster at hand, people believe the city can make a recovery.

"Super glad everyone is safe and super thankful for everybody that’s come to help. This would’ve been a month cleanup with just us around here. Everybody will rebuild. We will be alright," Fox said.

Though it was cold Thursday, the presence of many people from surrounding communities offering their assistance to help in the road to recovery has warmed the hearts of residents all across the town.