Hundreds of homes were damaged and nearly 10,000 are without power after a tornado hit parts of Omaha in the US state of Nebraska.
Several tornadoes were reported in the state, but the worst hit the northwest suburbs of the city, which has a population of 485,000.
The damaged homes were mostly in the Elkhorn area, police said, and emergency crews went door to door to help people trapped in the rubble.
Elkhorn residents Pat and Kim Woods said they took shelter when the tornado was about 200 yards away.
“We could hear it,” Woods said.
“When we went up, our fence was gone and we looked northwest and the whole neighborhood was gone.”
Ms Woods added: “The whole neighborhood to the north of us is pretty devastated.”
Near Omaha. Photo: Chris Machian/Omaha World-Herald/AP
But while some homes in the area were destroyed, others appeared untouched.
There were no reported deaths, but several people suffered minor injuries, according to Omaha Police Chief Todd Schmaderer, who added, “People were warned about it and it saved lives.”
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One of the other tornadoes passed through parts of Eppley Airfield, the city’s airport, which was closed for nearly an hour.
Passengers were sent to storm shelters, according to Steve McCoy, director of strategy for the Omaha Airport Authority.
The terminal was not affected, but other buildings at the airport “sustained damage.”
The airport has now reopened, although flight delays are expected until Friday.
Lincoln. Photo: Kenneth Ferriera/Lincoln Journal Star/AP
North of Waverly. Photo: Chris Machian/Omaha World-Herald/AP
The tornado then crossed the Missouri River into Iowa, where damage reports are still coming in.
Daniel Fienhold, owner of a steakhouse in Crescent, Iowa, said he watched the weather outside with his daughter and employees.
“It started raining and then it started hailing, and then all the clouds started spinning and coming together, and as soon as the wind started picking up, I went into the basement, but we never saw it,” he said.
Three workers at an industrial plant were injured when another tornado touched down near the city of Lincoln, Nebraska, on Friday afternoon.
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The building collapsed with around 70 people inside and several had to be rescued from the rubble.
The weekend likely won’t bring any relief — the Weather Service has issued tornado warnings for parts of Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, Oklahoma and Texas.
This story originally appeared on News.sky.com read the full story
