By Deutsche Welle
Apr 27, 2024, 01:29 AM EDT
A tornado ripped through the Omaha, Nebraska, suburbs on Friday afternoon, damaging hundreds of homes and other structures as it tore through miles of farmland. Some injuries were reported, but there were no immediate reports of deaths, authorities in the United States said.
Several tornadoes were reported in Nebraska, but the most destructive storm moved from a largely rural area into the interior of the state, northwest of Omaha, a city of 485,000 residents.
Photos spread on social media showed destroyed houses and splintered trees. A video showed houses with no roofs.
Authorities blocked some roads in Omaha, where hundreds of homes were damaged, especially in the Elkhorn area in the west of the city, where police and firefighters are going door to door helping people who were trapped.
Search in the basements
“We’re going to be searching through the piles of rubble and in the basements, trying to find the victims and make sure that everyone is rescued,” said Omaha Fire Chief Kathy Bossman.
In one area of Elkhorn, dozens of large newly built homes, at least six, were destroyed, including one that was completely leveled, while others had their top half torn off.
“We saw it (the tornado) hit about 200 yards away and we took shelter,” said Elkhorn resident Pat Woods. “We could hear it going by. When we got up our fence was gone and we looked northwest and the whole neighborhood was gone,” he added.
Another witness, Dhaval Naik, said three people, including a child, were in the basement when the tornado hit. They came out safe and sound.
Police said rescuers would conduct a second search of the homes throughout the night to make sure no one was inside.
Tornado warnings
“People had warnings about this and it saved lives,” said Omaha Police Chief Todd Schmaderer, who confirmed that there were few serious injuries.
A tornado warning was issued in the Omaha area Friday afternoon just as children were leaving school. Hours later, buses were still transporting students home.
The US National Weather Service received at least 42 reports of tornadoes on Friday afternoon through 6:30 pm ET, in at least three states, including Texas, Nebraska and Iowa.