Denver Newsroom, Aug 24, 2020 / 18:19 pm
Two weeks after a major storm system caused massive damage in the Midwest, residents of Iowa and other affected states are working to rebuild.
For fourteen hours over an 800-mile stretch, the Aug. 10 storm caused major damage and killed several people, with Iowa and northern Illinois the worst hit. The storm began in eastern Nebraska, and also hit Wisconsin and Indiana.
Its winds gusted to the strength of a strong tornado or weak hurricane, reaching speeds of over 100 miles per hour. The phenomenon, known as a derecho, is a chain of intense thunderstorms.
Kent Ferris, Director of Social Action and Catholic Charities at the Diocese of Davenport, told CNA Aug. 24 that "Though people in our diocese have endured days without power, (and) dealt with wind damage to crops and trees, they also have responded generously to people in need in the diocese with food, water and monetary donations," Ferris said.