National Weather Service Confirm Tornado Cut Through Davenport

After severe weather hit the Quad Cities on July 11, Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds signed a disaster proclamation directing more resources for response and recovery. Information on applying for individual disaster assistance programs available to Scott County residents is posted here.

The National Weather Service confirmed an EF2 tornado cut through Davenport with peak winds estimated at 120mph. The tornado’s seven-mile path started southeast of Bluegrass around 5:00 p.m., continuing northeast through Emeis Park and ending near Kimberly and Fairmount around 5:13 p.m.

Damage assessments

City of Davenport staff recorded damage at 18 properties during assessments on Saturday, noting varying degrees of damage from trees to roofs and visible flooding problems. The assessments were performed in known low-lying areas and based on a heat map of requests. The total does not include properties where homeowners did not self-report issues like flooded basements. The most significant damage assessed was to apartment buildings on 35th Street, where three buildings were tagged as unsafe, impacting 25-30 residents.

Emeis Park lost several large trees, but there was no damage to the playgrounds or ballfields. Emeis Park Road is closed temporarily during the cleanup for the next few days. City crews are also working at Junge Park, cleaning a layer of mud off the baseball fields and clearing debris. The fields will need to be regraded to bring them back to playable condition. Vander Veer Park lost a large tree on the west side of the park, but overall, the damage is minimal.

Tree debris pickups

The City is asking for help from residents with tree damage to make tree debris pickups more manageable and speed up collection. Large limbs should be cut shorter than five feet in length, bundled, and left in the resident’s normal collection spot. Smaller limbs can be bagged in a Kraft-ply bag and placed for collection. Sticker fees are waived through August 1. Debris will be picked up on regularly scheduled collection days. Residents can also drop off tree debris at no cost at the Davenport Compost Facility at 2707 Railroad Ave.

Damaged property pickups

City solid waste customers with flood-damaged property, including furniture, appliances, and rugs, can place items for pickup in their normal waste collection spot. Smaller, loose items should be placed in bags, each weighing no more than 50 lbs. The City asks residents to call Public Works at 563-326-7923 to report damaged property and request a pickup. People in residential housing with more than three units and commercial property owners or tenants will need to contact their insurance company, landlord, or contracted solid waste service.

Additional updates and recovery resources, including storm debris disposal guidelines and building permit requirements, are posted on the City of Davenport website page created for this storm event.