File image of tornado
Lorraine Matt | reuters
An initial 79 tornadoes were reported across six states on Friday, with the largest number in Nebraska and Iowa, where homes were leveled and buildings collapsed.
Omaha, Nebraska Mayor Gene Stothert said in a Facebook post early Saturday that no deaths and few minor injuries were reported after a destructive tornado passed through rural farms before hitting the suburbs.
Omaha Police Lt. Neil Bonacci said hundreds of homes were damaged, mostly in the Elkhorn area on the western side of the city.
“You definitely see the path of the tornado,” Bonacci said.
Omaha Fire Chief Kathy Bossman said police and firefighters went door to door to help residents and search for areas where people could be trapped.
“We’ll search all the property in the pile of debris, we’ll search the basements, try to find any victims and make sure everyone who needs assistance is rescued,” Boseman said.
Pat Woods, who lives in Elkhorn, said The Associated PressThat he and his wife took shelter but could hear the tornado “coming.”
“When we came up, our fence was gone and we looked to the northwest and the whole neighborhood was gone,” he said.
His wife, Kim Woods, said the neighborhood to their north was “pretty flat.”
Two women help a friend move her belongings out of her damaged home after a tornado passed through Bennington, Neb., on Friday. Josh Funk/AP
Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds declared a disaster emergency for Pottawattamie County after video posted on social media showed parts of Minden, about 30 miles northeast of Omaha, Nebraska, completely destroyed.
Chief Deputy Jeff Thulen of the Pottawattamie County Sheriff’s Office said at a Friday evening news conference that 40 or 50 homes were “completely destroyed.” There were two reports of injuries, one “quite serious but not life-threatening”, he told reporters.
“It is very dangerous right now. We have closed entry into the city except for people living here,” he said. “50% of the city is badly damaged and then there is light damage everywhere else,” he said.
About 40 homes were damaged in nearby Shelby County, said county emergency coordinator Alex Londo. He said officials were assessing the destruction and there were no reports of any casualties.
There were also more than 30 damaging wind reports and 60 hail reports Friday afternoon and night. National Weather Service offices are surveying the damage ahead of more severe weather expected Saturday.
More than 30 million people in Oklahoma City; Dallas; Wichita, Kansas; Omaha; milwaukee; And Madison, Wisconsin, is on track for severe weather.
Northwest Texas and western Oklahoma are under a tornado watch for Saturday, according to the National Weather Service.
“Multiple severe storms are expected across parts of Oklahoma, Kansas and northern Texas through tonight,” the agency’s Storm Prediction Center said in a statement. facebook post, “Strong, potentially long-lasting tornadoes, very large hail and damaging winds are possible.”