AMNA NAWAZ: Welcome to the "NewsHour."

Search efforts are continuing tonight in Iowa, where a devastating tornado tore through one community and led to multiple deaths.

More than 100 first responders were combing through the wreckage today.

GEOFF BENNETT: At least a dozen other people were injured.

And the tornado, part of a series of twisters hitting the state, cut through the heart of a small town about 50 miles southwest of Des Moines.

MAN: There it is, people.

GEOFF BENNETT: A funnel cloud on the horizon became a tornado that churned through Greenfield, Iowa, leaving behind a trail of destruction.

ROGUE PAXTON (Greenfield, Iowa, Resident): It got really, really loud, and we thought we lost our house.

But we were lucky.

Like, everyone else is not so much.

GEOFF BENNETT: Rogue Paxton couldn't believe what happened to the town.

ROGUE PAXTON: Everything is going to be fine because we have each other, but it's just going to be really, really rough.

It is a mess.

GEOFF BENNETT: The losses were especially ate for the town of about 2,000 people.

SGT.

ALEX DINKLA (Iowa State Police): Sadly, we can confirm there have been fatalities with this tornado.

GEOFF BENNETT: Today Iowa State Police Sergeant Alex Dinkla said he still couldn't confirm the number of deaths as the search-and-rescue operation was ongoing.

SGT.

ALEX DINKLA: We're looking to make sure all residents are accounted.

When we have this many homes that have been destroyed and just fully demolished, we want to make sure that every resident, every person is accounted for.

GEOFF BENNETT: Traffic cameras caught the tornado as it ripped through route 30 and overturned a semi-trailer.

Adams County officials said at least one person was killed when a car was blown off the road close to 30 miles Southwest of Greenfield.

Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds compared it to the devastating tornadoes that ripped through Iowa last month.

GOV.

KIM REYNOLDS (R-IA): It's just gut-wrenching.

I was just in Minden, as I said, three-and-a-half weeks ago, and that was horrific.

And I think there's even more debris and just more impaction - - more impacted here.

So it is just horrific.

It's hard to describe until you can actually see the devastation.

GEOFF BENNETT: The National Weather Service received 23 tornado reports on Tuesday, mostly in Iowa, but a few in Minnesota and Wisconsin.

Large parts of the Midwest experienced fierce thunderstorms, and tens of thousands were without power.

The White House said FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell would head to Iowa tomorrow to survey the damage.

KARINE JEAN-PIERRE, White House Press Secretary: In the meantime, residents in affected areas should remain vigilant and heed the advice of state and local officials.

GEOFF BENNETT: Greenfield's hospital was among the buildings damaged.

Officials said patients were transported to surrounding hospitals and temporary facilities were in place.

JEREMY COOPER, Emergency Management Agency Coordinator: The school is also our makeshift hospital just for -- still for any triage, anybody that might get hurt during our search-and-rescue or cleanup efforts.

GEOFF BENNETT: This has been an especially severe year for tornadoes, with 81 so far in Iowa.

GOV.

KIM REYNOLDS: Right now, we are going to take it pretty seriously.

When they say you need to take cover it, it means take cover.

So, you know, it's important that we listen to the warnings that are available to us right now.

GEOFF BENNETT: And the warnings will continue as peak tornado season extends through the spring and into early summer.