DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – Dozens of residents on Saturday picked through the shredded remains of homes leveled by a tornado that twisted through three eastern Iowa communities a night earlier.

Destruction was visible across Muscatine County and surrounding areas, where the tornado, with winds between 136 to 140 mph, cut through businesses and homes and knocked down trees and power lines.

It caused only minor injuries as it struck the town of Grandview, went north through Fruitland and dissipated in the Muscatine area about 10 minutes later, authorities said.

The number of homes damaged by the storm could reach “triple digits,” Muscatine police Lt. Brett Talkington said.

He said cleanup efforts by city crews and local residents were hampered by heavy traffic caused by “sightseers.”

“Our biggest issue is people in the area who don’t need to be there,” Talkington said. “We’ve been called by the city crews a couple times of traffic being so bad with cars in the area that they can’t do their job.”

Mark Husar said the car dealership he manages in Muscatine was cleaned up in time to open Saturday and made several sales, even though most of the 175 vehicles on the lot sustained some damage.

“People are still going about their lives,” Husar said. “People still buy cars.”

In Grandview, a town of about 600, oak trees were shredded and debris from flattened homes littered the streets. One brick house stood roofless, while a few uprooted trees broke through a nearby garage.

In Fruitland, Kelly Goodwin sifted through the rubble of what used to be her kitchen.

She had been spending a quiet afternoon in her home when she heard the wind howl. She glanced out the window, saw a tree rip from the ground and hurried to the basement.

“When I came back up I saw all this,” Goodwin said, waving her arms at the wreckage.

A couple blocks away, the post office didn’t fair any better. Its four walls were ripped away, leaving a clear view of post office boxes and equipment inside amid piles of rubble and tree limbs.

Heavy rains across the region also caused flooding and several traffic accidents, including one fatal wreck near Coralville.

Gov. Chet Culver declared a disaster emergency for Jackson, Louisa and Muscatine counties, authorizing state and local authorities to assist in the cleanup.

AP-ES-06-02-07 1757EDT