A flurry of unexpected tornadoes swept through central Iowa, injuring at least 17 people, flattening buildings in three cities and forcing the evacuation of a hospital.Residents — and even weather forecasters — were taken by surprise Thursday as the tornadoes hit Marshalltown, Pella and Bondurant. Ten people were injured in Marshalltown and seven at a factory near Pella, but no deaths were reported.Gov. Kim Reynolds and Lt. Gov. Adam Gregg, along with Iowa Department of Homeland Security and Emergency Management Acting Director Joyce Flinn, will tour areas impacted by severe storms and tornadoes on Friday. Officials with the National Weather Service will also be assessing tornado damage.Marshalltown appeared to have been hit the hardest. Brick walls collapsed in the streets and roofs were blown off buildings. The only hospital in Marshalltown was damaged and patients were being transferred.Thousands of people are still without power after tornadoes that struck Marshalltown and other Iowa communities.On Friday, Alliant Energy was working to restore electricity to nearly 6,400 customers in the Marshalltown area, which appeared to have been hit the hardest Thursday afternoon. The Marshall County Courthouse, several businesses and dozens of homes damaged, but few injuries and no deaths have been reported.The Red Cross has set up an emergency shelter for those impacted by the tornado that hit Marshalltown. It is located at the Meskwaki Conference Center at the Meskwaki Hotel/Casino in Tama. Anyone displaced can stay at the shelter.The tornado hit Marshalltown just as clothing shop owner Stephanie Moz, her husband and their 2-month-old baby were taking a late lunch break.She says the storm broke out the shop's window, ruined the clothing and hats they had on display and destroyed her husband's vehicle, but she's relieved. She says, "We went through a tornado and survived. I'm happy."Moz says she heard a storm siren and her mother texted her to seek shelter, so she and her 2-month-old son, Fredy Jr., rushed to the basement. Her husband looked outside and then ran back, shouting "Get in the basement. It's right over us."They could hear booms and crashes, and a gust of wind blew through the basement, but they emerged safely. Moz says, "We're OK. Not a scratch."The baby? He barely noticed. Moz says, "It didn't really bother him. He wanted to sleep."The damage from the Thursday afternoon tornado severely damaged many of the buildings in the city of 27,000, about 50 miles northeast of Des Moines.The brick buildings that surround the 132-year-old courthouse were severely damaged. The city's wide streets were littered with bricks and downed trees.The courthouse also was hit hard, as the tornado caused its cupola to tumble about 175 feet to the ground.A spokeswoman for UnityPoint Health says that 40 patients are being evacuated from its hospital damaged by a tornado.UnityPoint Health spokeswoman Amy Varcoe, who is based in Des Moines, says it was unclear how severely the UnityPoint hospital in Marshalltown was damaged, but all of its patients are being transferred to the health system's hospitals in Waterloo and Grundy Center.Lennox Industries’ manufacturing facility in Marshalltown sustained tornado damage. There were no reported injuries to on-site employees. The extent of damage to the facility is currently being assessed.Seven people inside a Pella manufacturing plant when it was struck by a tornado have been treated for injuries at the local hospital and released.Pella Regional Health Center spokeswoman Billie Rhamy confirmed Thursday evening injuries were minor and all patients had been discharged.Vermeer Manufacturing, which has about 2,800 employees manufacturing industrial and agricultural equipment, was hit by a tornado around 4 p.m.Vice President of Operations Vince Newendorp says the east half of the company's campus, which includes seven manufacturing buildings, sustained extensive damage.He says the plant activated its storm warning system, and workers were in shelters when the storm hit.The company makes agricultural machinery including hay balers and mowers and equipment for the pipeline and forestry management industries.The storm struck Bondurant first, but did perhaps the least amount of damage there.An official says four or five homes are destroyed on the northeast edge of the city of Bondurant.Fire Chief Aaron Kreuder says several other homes in the city just northeast of Des Moines have significant damage but appear to be repairable.A collapsed wall in one of the damaged homes ruptured, causing a major gas leak for more than an hour until a hole could be dug in the yard to shut off the line.Kreuder says a tornado dropped to the ground, rose back up and then dropped again.He said minor injuries were reported but nothing requiring emergency transportation to the hospital.