GREENFIELD, Iowa — For block after block through the small city of Greenfield, Iowa, the destructive power of an EF-4 tornado that ripped apart more than 100 of the town’s homes in just one minute is evident in the muddy, shattered mess left behind.

All along the mile-long swath Thursday was the deafening clamor of heavy equipment scooping up the splintered homes, smashed vehicles and shredded trees. But on either side of that path, picturesque houses and lawns seem untouched, and one might be hard-pressed to believe a twister packing peak winds of 175-185 mph had ravaged the community of 2,000, killing four people and injuring at least 35.

More than 202 homes were destroyed by a series of tornadoes that raked the state on Tuesday, Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds said Thursday at a news conference. Most were in and around Greenfield. The count does not include businesses or other buildings destroyed or damaged, like Greenfield’s 25-bed hospital.

The havoc spun by the tornado now shows on the faces of people still processing how quickly homes and lives were shattered.

Among those killed were Dean and Pam Wiggins, said their grandson Tom Wiggins.

On Thursday, Tom Wiggins tried to find any of his grandparents’ mementos that remained after the tornado demolished their home, leaving little more than the structure’s foundation. He described them as “incredibly loved by not only our family but the entire town.”

Not far away, Bill Yount, 64, also was cleaning up.

“It’s like somebody took a bomb,” said Yount, gesturing to the land — covered with wood, debris, trees stripped of their leaves, heavy machinery and equipment to clean up the mess.

Yount’s house was the only one “that really survived. And I don’t know why,” Yount said, pointing to the devastated remains of his neighbors’ homes.

Also surveying the damage was 80-year-old Edith Schaecher, who was briefly trapped in her collapsed house with her daughter until neighbors helped them out. They sought shelter in a basement concrete shower, holding pillows over their heads to protect from the falling debris.