LINCOLN, NE – Governor Jim Pillen and the Nebraska Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) are providing updates concerning the response and recovery from a string of storms that swept through Nebraska over the weekend. There have been no reports of deaths or serious injuries resulting from the devastating weather. Starting Friday and continuing into Sunday, affected areas were impacted by tornadoes, high winds, severe thunderstorms, and heavy rain.
“There is no other way to describe those areas, other than they look like war zones,” said Gov. Pillen. “It’s sobering to see what homeowners and property owners are now dealing with. It will take until the snow flies before some of these communities are truly back on their feet.”
Today, Gov. Pillen joined Colonel John Bolduc on a helicopter tour of the tornado’s path starting in northeast Lincoln and continuing up into Blair. On Sunday, the Governor issued emergency declarations for Washington, Lancaster and Douglas counties. Other counties reporting varying degrees of storm damage to NEMA include Boone, Buffalo, Butler, Greeley, Howard, Nance, Platte, Saunders and Sherman. It is possible that additional emergency declarations will be issued in the coming days, depending on the level of damage reported in those counties.
“Counties are still in the initial stages of assessing damage. As reports continue to roll in, we will have a better sense about what assistance is needed, as well as if the damage meets the threshold for state and/or federal assistance,” said Erv Portis.
To help facilitate that assessment, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has contracted for Civil Air Patrol to conduct imaging flights over the tornado path. Portis said it will take several days before all data is completely accumulated.
The Lancaster County Emergency Management Agency reports that up to 12 homes were damaged. Garner Industries collapsed in the storm and a 31-car train detailed, all in the northeast Lincoln and Waverly areas. It is estimated that several hundred homes sustained damage or were destroyed in Douglas and Washington counties. Fewer than 500 customers remain without power in the hardest hit areas. Six transmission lines in Douglas County were reported to have considerable damage.
Omaha Police requested three portable traffic signals to help manage traffic going in and out of Elkhorn. Additionally, six Nebraska State Troopers have been tasked with providing overnight law enforcement support to he Douglas County Sheriff’s office, to make sure that damaged property is kept safe and secure. People who do not live in affected neighborhoods are advised not to loiter or sightsee.
“If you don’t have a legitimate reason to be in the area, please stay away,” said Col. Bolduc. “We don’t want homeowners to have additional concerns about the ability to secure their property, especially since they are already dealing with so much in the aftermath of this devastation.”
Gov. Pillen once again thanked the many volunteers who responded immediately to remove debris and assist those in need. Volunteer efforts have been suspended in Bennington, as reported to NEMA. Today, the focus of much of the work was on tree and debris removal in Elkhorn.
Volunteers who are interested in providing clean up assistance should reach out to Omaha Rapid Response (https://rapidresponseamerica.org/). That organization is helping to coordinate volunteer efforts in Elkhorn and many other areas.
Douglas County has indicated that donations of physical items are no longer needed. Still, there are numerous agencies that continue to assist storm victims and are accepting financial donations. Some of those include the American Red Cross, United Way of the Midlands, Salvation Army and the Omaha Foundation. Information and helpful resources are available to storm victims through 211. Users can also access 211 by logging onto unitedwaymidlands.org. The site hosts a portal for donations.
