Chronicle: Tornado outbreak

THE STORIES AND PEOPLE MAKING A DIFFERENCE IN OUR COMMUNITY. THIS IS KETV NEWSWATCH SEVEN’S CHRONICLE. WHEN YOU START TO DIG THROUGH THE DEBRIS, IT’S GOING TO HIT YOU. AT LEAST EIGHT TORNADOES RAVAGED NEBRASKA AND IOWA FROM LINCOLN TO MINDEN. IT LOOKED LIKE A WAR ZONE. NOW THE CLEANUP IS IN FULL SWING WITH HELP POURING IN FROM THE METRO AND THE COUNTRY. WE LIVE IN SUCH A DIVIDED WORLD, AND IT’S SO HUMBLING TO SEE ALL THESE PEOPLE COMING BACK TOGETHER TO HELP OUT, REBUILD THE COMMUNITY. THIS MORNING ON CHRONICLE, IT’S A MIRACLE. IT’S AN ABSOLUTE MIRACLE. THE STORIES OF HEARTBREAK, HOPE AND HELP IN THE HEARTLAND AND GOOD MORNING, I’M ROB MCCARTNEY. IT HAS BEEN AN EMOTIONAL WEEK IN EASTERN NEBRASKA AND SOUTHWEST IOWA. THE WORST TORNADO OUTBREAK WE’VE SEEN IN A DECADE. LEVELS. HOMES IN POPULATED AREAS DECIMATE SMALL TOWNS. WELL, THIS MORNING OUR TEAM OF KETV NEWSWATCH SEVEN CHRONICLE REPORTERS TAKES YOU ALONG THE TORNADO’S TRACKS. TOWN BY TOWN, SHOWING YOU THE PATH OF DESTRUCTION. BUT THEY’RE NOT ALL STORIES OF HEARTBREAK. WE’RE FINDING HEALING HAPPENING, GLIMMERS OF HOPE, EVEN IN THE CARNAGE FROM THE VERY MOMENTS AFTER THE TWISTERS TOUCHED DOWN. LIKE IN ELKHORN. THAT’S WHERE WE SPOKE WITH RESIDENTS AS THEY GOT THEIR FIRST LOOK AT WHAT WAS LEFT OF THEIR HOMES. HERE’S BILL SCHAMMERT REPORT FROM THAT FRIDAY. A RAINBOW SHINES OVER THE TOP OF AN AMERICAN FLAG, AND IN BETWEEN, A HOME AND ELKHORN DECIMATED. MY WIFE AND I’S DREAM HOME. UM. WE’RE THANKFUL TO BE ALIVE. WE’RE VERY THANKFUL. WE SAW IT COMING FROM THE SOUTHWEST AND WHEN IT GOT A LITTLE CLOSE, TOO CLOSE FOR COMFORT. WE HEADED DOWNSTAIRS QUICKLY AND WE WERE IN THE DOWNSTAIRS BATHTUB. AND IT’S JUST LIKE THE MOVIE SAID. IT WAS LIKE A FREIGHT TRAIN AND YOU COULD YOU YOU KNEW WHEN THE ROOF WAS COMING OFF BECAUSE THAT WAS A LOUD POP AND SUCKING MOTION. IT WAS PRETTY SCARY. PRETTY SCARY. JASON SUNDAY, A MILITARY VETERAN, SAYS THEY SAW THE TORNADO FROM ABOUT HALF A MILE AWAY, THEN TOOK COVER. WE HAD TWO BIG BAY WINDOWS ON THAT WALL THERE AND SLIDING GLASS DOORS AND TABLE THERE AND BACK. HERE WAS OUR BEDROOM. OKAY, SO IT’S GONE. IT’S JUST GONE NOW. LIKE SO MANY OF HIS NEIGHBORS, HE’S THANKFUL IT WASN’T WORSE. AND THEY’LL START THE PROCESS OF REBUILDING. AND TO BLAIR NOW WHERE SARAH FILI SPOKE WITH PEOPLE RIGHT AFTER THE TORNADO WENT THROUGH OMAHA’S WEATHER LEADER IS THERE AS A RAIN WRAPPED TORNADO. TEARS ACROSS WASHINGTON COUNTY, LEVELING HOMES ON HIGHWAY 75 OUTSIDE BLAIR. MOMENTS LATER, WE SEE THE DESTRUCTION. MY EARS STARTED JUST POPPING THE HIGH PRESSURE AND WE GOT DOWN IN THE BASEMENT, HEARD A, HEARD A WINDOW BREAK AND THEN IT WAS JUST THE ROAR GOING THROUGH. STORM CHASER SHANNON BIELECKI STOPPED TO HELP AFTER THE STORM SHOT RIGHT IN FRONT OF HER. I WENT TO CHECK ON THAT HOUSE THERE. WE SAW THE LADY, UM, OR I SAW THE LADY AND SHE CAME OUT AND SHE WAS ASKING ABOUT HER NEIGHBOR. DIDN’T EVEN NOTICE THAT THERE WAS A HOUSE HERE COMPLETELY GONE. MEDICS RUSHED A WOMAN FROM THIS HOME TO THE HOSPITAL. THE TORNADO ROLLING RIGHT OVER TOP OF HER. IT’S BAD, IT’S BAD, BAD. FIVE MILES SOUTH OF BLAIR. AN ENTIRE NEIGHBORHOOD IS NO MORE. THERE’S PROPANE TANKS THAT ARE FLIPPED. THERE’S HOUSES THAT THEY’RE NOT EVEN ON THEIR FOUNDATION. YOU DON’T EVEN KNOW WHERE THEY WERE. I’VE NEVER, NEVER SEEN ANYTHING LIKE THIS. I’VE MILLION AND A HALF MILES OF DRIVE, AND AND I’VE. I’VE NEVER SEEN ANYTHING LIKE THIS. PETE COHEN SAYS HE WAS OUTSIDE WATCHING THE STORM ROLL IN. HE SAW THE SKIES DARKEN AND THE CLOUDS BEGIN ROTATING, BOLTING INSIDE WENT THIS FAR BACK IN THE STORAGE ROOM AS WE COULD GO. BOARD WAS CRACKING, GLASS FLYING, COVERED IN INSULATION, HE SAYS. IT WAS OVER IN JUST FIVE MINUTES. STEPPING OUTSIDE TO SEE HIS HOME AND MOST OTHERS IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD DESTROYED TREES SHEARED OFF AT THEIR BASES, WOOD TOSSED AROUND LIKE TOOTHPICKS. THE PATH OF THIS STORM THROUGH BLAIR CLEAR AND DEVASTATING. IT’S JUST A HOUSE, AND YOU KNOW WE’RE ALIVE AND I DON’T HAVE A SCRATCH ON ME. SARAH FILI KETV. NEWSWATCH SEVEN. THE TORNADO STARTED THERE. MAJOR DAMAGE THAT NIGHT IN NORTH LINCOLN. THE GARNER INDUSTRIES PLANT TOOK A DIRECT HIT. 70 PEOPLE WERE INSIDE AT THE TIME. ALL MADE IT OUT, BUT THREE WENT TO THE HOSPITAL WITH MINOR INJURIES. GARNER SAYS SOME OF THE EMPLOYEES TOOK SHELTER IN REINFORCED RESTROOMS AS THE TORNADO EVEN THREW SOME OF THEIR CARS HUNDREDS OF YARDS AWAY. I HAD A SPLIT SECOND JUST TO GET IN THE BATHROOM WHEN IT CAME THROUGH. ALL OF A SUDDEN THE BUILDING STARTED SHAKING. I TOOK OFF RUNNING, THINGS FLYING BY MY HEAD. I GOT IN THE BATHROOM RIGHT AS THE WHOLE BUILDING COLLAPSED. IT DROPPED RIGHT ON TOP OF US. WORKERS WERE BUSED TO THE SANDHILLS GLOBAL EVENT CENTER TO REUNITE. NOW THIS WAS AN OUTBREAK, CHIEF METEOROLOGIST BILL RANDBY SAYS HE’S NEVER SEEN IN ALL HIS YEARS OF FORECAST HERE. ONE MOMENT WHEN HE AND I WERE ON THE AIR, HE SAW EPPLEY AIRFIELD TAKE A DIRECT HIT. THIS IS EPPLEY AIRFIELD. SO THIS IS WHAT I WAS TALKING ABOUT BEFORE. THAT’S THE LEWIS AND CLARK MONUMENT. LOOK AT THIS THING. THIS IS RIGHT OVER EPPLEY AIRFIELD AND DEBRIS OCCURRING WITH THAT AS IT TRACKED. IT’S RIGHT OVER THE AIRPORT RIGHT NOW. LOOK AT IT. OH, MY. DID THAT HIT THE THE AVIATION BUILDINGS THERE. THEY MIGHT HAVE HIT JOSH. OH THAT MIGHT BE GENERAL AVIATION ON THAT SIDE. YEAH. IF MIGHT BE EAST SIDE OF EPPLEY AIRFIELD. THAT’S GENERAL AVIATION. DID YOU SEE THAT. OH NO. LET’S WIDEN THAT OUT IF YOU CAN A LITTLE BIT. SO THIS IS GOING TO BE TRACKING JUST NORTH. SO SO CLOSE. WOW. THAT DEVELOPED RIGHT OVER DOWNTOWN OMAHA. WE WERE TALKING ABOUT THIS THE HOOK. AND HERE IT IS RIGHT HERE. REMARKABLY NO INJURIES THERE. BUT THAT WASN’T THE CASE IN MENDON, IOWA. 63 YEAR OLD NICK RING DIED. THREE OTHERS WERE HURT AS ABOUT 50 HOMES WERE LEVELED. SEVERAL DAYS AFTER THE STORM, THE MEDIA WAS GIVEN A TOUR OF THE TOWN. AND HERE’S BILL SCHAMMERT. THE DRIVE INTO MENDON, IOWA, GIVES YOU A GLIMPSE AT THE WRATH OF AN ESTIMATED EF THREE TORNADO. SOMETIMES YOU HAVE TO CONTINUE TO DESTROY TO START TO REBUILD. THERE USED TO BE A TWO CAR GARAGE. THERE, AND IT JUST DON’T KNOW WHERE IT’S AT. JEAN AND HIS WIFE SHERRY TOOK COVER IN THEIR BASEMENT. WE WENT TO THE BASEMENT BECAUSE THE NEWS WAS SO WONDERFUL WITH THE WARNINGS. THIS IS JEAN SHOP WHERE HE FIXES CARS AND MOTORCYCLES. THEY TELL ME. DURING THE STORM, SHERRY PUT HER VEHICLE INSIDE, TRYING TO KEEP IT SAFE FROM THE STORM. NOW IT’S BURIED UNDER RUBBLE. VIDEO FROM DOWNSTAIRS SHOWS. RIGHT BACK HERE ON THE LEDGE SHOWS A SLIVER OF LIGHT. IT FELT LIKE THINGS WERE GOING TO COME DOWN ON US. THAT’S WHERE THE HOME CAME OFF. ITS FOUNDATION. OUR HOUSE LIFTED AND SET BACK DOWN, AND IT WAS LIKE A BOMB WENT OFF OR SOMETHING. WHEN THEY COME BACK DOWN, I THOUGHT I WAS GOING TO DIE. I GRABBED MY WIFE AND PULLED HER UNDER ME. A BIRD’S EYE VIEW SHOWS YOU JUST HOW WIDESPREAD THE DESTRUCTION WAS. DECADES OLD MAPLE TREES SNAPPED LIKE TOOTHPICKS. THE ARNOLD FAMILY HAS CALLED MINDEN HOME THEIR WHOLE LIFE. THEY TOOK COVER IN THE BASEMENT, AND WHEN THEY CAME UPSTAIRS, YOU COULD HEAR THE GLASS SHATTERED AND WALLS COMING DOWN. A LOT OF BANGING AND JUST. JUST LOUD. REALLY LOUD FOR A LITTLE WHILE. AND THEN IT JUST ALL OF A SUDDEN WAS QUIET THERE. ONE OF 48 HOMES CONSIDERED A TOTAL LOSS IN MINDEN, BUT THEY’RE HOLDING STRONG THROUGH FAITH. MY GRANDMOTHER’S BIBLE SAT ON TOP OF MY DRESSER THAT WAS IN THAT ROOM, AND IT SAT COMPLETELY UNTOUCHED, NOT WET, NOT MOVED, AND EVERYTHING ELSE AROUND IT WAS BLOWN AWAY. HOW DO YOU EXPLAIN THAT THE TOWN’S MAYOR, ON HIS FOURTH TERM, TRYING TO LEAD. WE’LL MAKE IT WORKING TO GET BACK. WE GOT TO GET INSURANCE PEOPLE IN HERE AND YOU KNOW, IT’S A HURRY UP AND WAIT STUFF. AND ALSO TRYING TO CLEAN UP HIS OWN DAMAGE. IT’S TOUGH. BUT IN THE MIDDLE OF CHAOS, KINDNESS AND A SIGN THAT BETTER DAYS ARE AHEAD. SO COME BACK BETTER THAN EVER. I FEEL LIKE. SO YEAH, WE’LL BE GOOD. IT’LL ALL BE GOOD. LET’S GO BACK TO ELKHORN. NOW. WHERE A TORNADO DESTROYS THE HOME OF A SINGLE MOM OF FOUR. SHE WASN’T HOME WHEN THE STORM HIT, BUT HER KIDS WERE. AND SHE’S GRATEFUL THEY KNEW WHAT TO DO. HERE’S ERIN HEGARTY. THAT’S THE MOST IMPORTANT THING IN THIS WHOLE WORLD IS YOUR KIDS. THIS IS MINDY BRITTON’S FAVORITE PHOTO OF HER CHILDREN FROM WHEN THEY WERE YOUNGER. ALL FOUR LAYING ON THE STAIRS SO WE WERE IN HERE FRIDAY, TWO OF THEM TOOK SHELTER UNDER THOSE SAME STAIRS. BAILEY AND XANDER WERE THE ONLY TWO HOME WHEN THE TORNADO WARNING WENT OUT. THE SCHOOL BUS ARRIVED LESS THAN A HALF HOUR BEFORE THE TWISTER DID. MY GRANDMA CALLED AND SAID SHE ACTUALLY SAW IT HEADING OUR WAY. I REALIZED IN MY HEAD THAT IT’S REALLY REAL. SO 14 YEAR OLD BAILEY CONVINCED HER SKEPTICAL LITTLE BROTHER TO TAKE SHELTER WITH HER. MY EARS WERE POPPING AND LIKE IT WAS JUST HARD TO, LIKE, COMPREHEND WHAT WAS HAPPENING BECAUSE, LIKE, IT WAS JUST SO LOUD. WHEN BAILEY AND XANDER CAME OUT FROM UNDER THE STAIRS, MOST OF THEIR HOME WAS GONE. SO THIS IS MY ROOM. MINDY WAS AT WORK, BUT RUSHED BACK AS SOON AS SHE GOT THE CALL FROM HER DAUGHTER. OH, IT’S JUST YOU WANT TO BE WITH YOUR KIDS DURING WHEN THEY’RE SCARED. AND THEY WERE SO SCARED AND THERE WAS NOTHING I COULD DO ABOUT IT, BUT THEY WERE STRONG. AND I’M SO PROUD OF THEM FOR BEING STRONG. FOR A MOMENT. THE KIDS COULDN’T GET OUT OF THE DESTROYED HOME LIKE THE FRONT DOOR WAS LIKE BLOCKED BY LIKE DRYWALL AND LIKE ROUGH PIECES. SO IT WAS LIKE THE POLICE, LIKE, HAD TO, LIKE, PUSH ON THE DOOR. MINDY IS THANKFUL, THOUGH, FOR VOLUNTEERS LIKE THESE FOLKS FROM BETHANY LUTHERAN WHO WERE IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD DELIVERING MEALS AND THAT EVERYONE IS OKAY IF SHE DID NOT GRAB HIM AND PULL HIM UNDERNEATH THE STEPS, I DON’T KNOW. YEAH, TERRIFIED. WELL, NEXT HERE ON CHRONICLE, OUR TEAM BREAKS DOWN THE EXACT PATHS ALL THE TORNADOES TOOK. PLUS STORIES OF HOPE AND ELKHORN FAMILY ON HOW THEY SURVIVED WHILE SHELTERING A MAN WHO COULDN’T MOVE TO SAFETY. AND THE BROTHERS HURT WHEN A TORNADO SWEEPS THEM INTO TH