The house I grew up in is gone --Tornado

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Sunday night in Parkersburg, IA a tornado touched down and pretty much leveled the town. Reports are indicating that the tornado was about half a mile wide and stayed on the ground for over 100 miles. Most of the houses in and around the area are gone, and a number of businesses as well. At least 50 people have been injured and there are four confirmed dead in Parkersburg and two more in New Hartford. The tornado struck pretty much without warning. I talked to my dad this morning and he said that residents there only had maybe half a minute to find shelter once the warning horns started blaring. The house I grew up in, as well as my grandparent's home and my great-aunt's home are destroyed. My great-aunt is missing. My uncle Daelyn got them out after the tornado hit and into the pickup truck and he stopped for a few minutes to talk to someone and when he went back to the truck she was gone. No one has seen her since. I don't know if she got knocked on the head and wasn't thinking clearly or what. My mom and dad drove into town and went door-to-door collecting bandages and ice from residents whose homes were still there. And my aunt, who is a nurse, helped out at the triage that was set up at one of the schools. She said some people were coming in so black and blue that they had difficulty finding their veins. My grandparents are 85 years old and my grandma suffers from Alzheimers. She and my grandpa are staying with my grandpa's brother, but that situation can't last too long. Everything they have is gone and they'll probably have to stay with one of the kids until...whenever. The National Guard forced everyone to evacuate last night because there were gas leaks and today they've started letting people back in, but only if they have ID to prove they live there. They're also keeping an eye on things to prevent further injury and looting. I feel terrible that this has happened and powerless to help. I live about 1000 miles from there now. My dad, who now lives in a town about 20 minutes drive from there says he feels powerless too. They want to help but until the Guard starts letting people in to help dig, there isn't much more they can do. Dad said that the power went out Sunday night where they live, and they didn't know anything had happened until my mom's uncle called them to say "Your parents aren't hurt, but...." I've been viewing pictures posted online by the various local news sources, and the destruction is just horrific. Everything is gone. Have you ever lived through a tornado or had loved ones touched by this type of disaster? How long did it take for them to get back to normal?