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The video features CGI content and clips from unrelated storms
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Hyperpoliticization doesn't sell like it used to. Cowboy hats, community service, and storm-chasing might be the way forward.'Like a freight train': Videos show widespread destruction as tornadoes ravage Nebraska and Iowa, more storms pose perilous threats
Parts of Nebraska and Iowa were ravaged by powerful tornadoes on Friday. Weather experts predict that new storms could bring even more destruction to the Midwest region.
Hundreds of homes and businesses were damaged or destroyed by the ferocity of the storm's fury, especially in a suburb of Omaha, Nebraska.
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On Saturday, residents of Elkhorn were sifting through the rubble after a tornado decimated the area.
“We watched it touch down like 200 yards over there and then we took shelter,” said Pat Woods – who lives in Elkhorn. "We could hear it coming through. When we came up, our fence was gone and we looked to the northwest and the whole neighborhood's gone.”
Kim Woods, Pat's wife, added, “The whole neighborhood just to the north of us is pretty flattened.”
Jason Sunday – a resident of Elkhorn in Omaha – told KETV, "We saw it coming from the southwest, and when it got too close for comfort, we headed downstairs quickly. We were in the downstairs bathtub, and it was just like the movie said, it was like a freight train."
Three people were hurt with non-life-threatening injuries when a tornado caused an industrial building to collapse in Nebraska’s Lancaster County. There were 70 people inside, but they were able to be evacuated.
Omaha police Lt. Neal Bonacci said and police and firefighters were going door-to-door to help residents.
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Nebraska Gov. Jim Pillen toured the area worst affected by the tornadoes in his state.
Pillen said on the X social media platform:
Suzanne and I extend our deepest prayers to all those impacted by today's storms. I have ordered that state resources be made available to assist with the emergency response and to support local first responders as they assess the damage. Nebraskans are tough, resilient people, and our neighbors and communities will rally around affected families and businesses to assist them. Nebraskans are no strangers to severe weather and, as they have countless times before, Nebraskans will help Nebraskans to rebuild.
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In Iowa, the small towns of Minden and Harlan were some of the hardest hit by the destructive tornadoes.
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There were nearly 80 reports of tornadoes on Friday across five states that were corroborated by weather service data and storm chaser recordings.
There have been several reports of injuries but thankfully no fatalities have been reported.
More updates on the severe weather in the Midwest:
- Four people in Iowa's Pottawattamie County suffered storm-related injuries and needed medical attention, according to county emergency management officials.
- Pottawattamie County, home to approximately 90,000 residents, witnessed damage to roughly 120 homes and businesses, with varying degrees of destruction reported, emergency officials stated.
- In Omaha, two individuals received minor injuries following a tornado in the Elkhorn area on Friday. Omaha Police Chief Todd Schmaderer credited the city and county's effective warning systems for mitigating further casualties, stressing the the benefits of early alerts.
- Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds issued a disaster proclamation to aid storm recovery efforts in Pottawattamie County following the tornado that ravaged Minden.
- Emergency responders in Nebraska's Shelby and Douglas counties reported significant property damage from multiple tornadoes on Friday. Residents were forced to evacuate due to the storm's devastation.
- Texas witnessed at least two tornadoes on Friday afternoon, as captured in social media footage.
Threats of severe weather – including damaging winds, possible flooding, and large hail – are in play for Nebraska, Texas, Oklahoma, and Iowa on Saturday and Sunday.
More than 50 million people are under the threat of severe weather on Saturday.
Approximately 18 million people across Nebraska, Iowa, and Texas, are under flood watches until Sunday afternoon, according to the National Weather Service
There were tornado warnings issued for the Midwest.
A tornado watch has been issued for parts of Kansas and Nebraska until 7 p.m. CDT.
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More than a dozen tornadoes touch down across Texas, Oklahoma and Nebraska www.youtube.com
Pfizer facility badly damaged by tornado in North Carolina
A Pfizer facility located in Rocky Mount, North Carolina was damaged by a tornado, the pharmaceutical giant announced on Wednesday.
"We can confirm that the Pfizer Rocky Mount facility was damaged by the tornado. Pfizer colleagues at the site followed our established safety protocol and were able to evacuate. They are safe and accounted for," Pfizer tweeted. "We are assessing the situation to determine the impact on production. Our thoughts are with our colleagues, our patients, and the community as we rebuild from this weather incident," the company added.
Video footage reveals the extent of the devastation that the tornado wreaked upon the facility.
Pfizer building destroyed by tornado in Rocky Mount, NC www.youtube.com
Pfizer's website indicates that various products are made at the location.
"The Rocky Mount, North Carolina site is one of the largest sterile injectable facilities in the world, with more than 1.4 million square feet of manufacturing space on 250 acres in Eastern North Carolina. Nearly 25 percent of all sterile injectables used in U.S. hospitals are produced at the site," Pfizer's website states. "At this facility, a wide range of products are produced, including anesthesia, analgesia, therapeutics, anti-infectives and neuromuscular blockers. These products are available in small volume presentations, such as ampules, vials and syringes, and large volume presentations, such as IV bags and semi-rigid bottles."
The National Weather Service, Raleigh, N.C., Twitter account noted that "damage has been found north of Rocky Mount consistent with an EF3 tornado and wind speeds of 150 mph."
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Theater roof collapses during sold-out show; tornadoes, severe storms rip Midwest, South killing at least 7
At least seven people were killed as tornado-spawning storms ripped through the South and the Midwest Friday, multiple outlets reported.
"Chaos, absolute chaos," Belvidere Police Chief Shane Woody said, describing the scene of a roof and marquee collapse during a sold-out show at the Apollo Theatre in northern Illinois, near Rockford.
"When officers are first on the scene, when the fire department and first responders get here, they do the best they can to control the chaos as much as possible. But ultimately, we go in, and ultimately try and find people, and save as many people as we possibly can – and bring them to safety as best as we can," Chief Woody also said.
"I was in there within a minute before it came down, concert-goer Gabrielle Lewellyn told WTVO. "The winds, when I was walking up to the building, it went like from zero to a thousand within five seconds."
The packed metal concert had reportedly been underway for less than an hour when the storm struck the century-old venue, killing at least one person and injuring dozens more.
Severe storms and tornadoes also struck other states Friday, including Arkansas, Indiana, Tennessee, Wisconsin, Iowa, and Mississippi, the New York Times reported.
"We will spare no resource to assist with response and recovery efforts for Arkansans impacted," Arkansas Governor Sarah Sanders (R) tweeted Friday night. The The Natural State governor signed an executive order declaring a state of emergency after severe weather gutted part of Little Rock and other towns.
The city of Wynne in northeastern Arkansas was "cut in half by damage from east to west," Wynne Mayor Jennifer Hobbs told CNN. At least two people died in the town with a population of about 8,274.
"Today has been a very hard day for the state of Arkansas," Gov. Sanders said in a news conference. Sanders activated the National Guard to assist the Arkansas State Police and local law enforcement.
"Our message and our mission is really simple," Sanders said. "The people come first and the paperwork will come second."
\u201cOur message and our mission are really simple: the people will come first and the paperwork will come second.\n\nWe will ensure that every Arkansan who needs help receives it.\u201d— Sarah Huckabee Sanders (@Sarah Huckabee Sanders) 1680317555
The apparent tornado that devastated portions of West Little Rock may have traveled more than 40 miles, KTHV reported. The National Weather Service called the storms in Arkansas "catastrophic."
Watch WLS-TV's coverage of the roof collapse at the century-old Apollo Theater in Belvidere, Illinois below.
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America's heartland torn apart by tornado outbreak
America’s heartland was devastated by 144 confirmed tornadoes on Friday and Saturday, leaving many injured and much property lost.
The tornadoes ranged from EF-0 to EF-3 and destroyed communities all the way from Texas to Iowa.
In one video that a brave civilian captured, a tornado crosses the path of a train in Nebraska, absolutely obliterating everything it touches — except for the train. While the tornadoes in Nebraska were devastating, there were thankfully no casualties reported.
“How did everyone survive this in Nebraska?” Keith Malinak says, astounded.
“Yeah, it’s amazing,” Pat Gray agrees.
In another video, a man stands outside to capture video of a tornado approaching his home while his wife begs him to come inside. He records until the last minute when the tornado breaks into two separate tornadoes — which is absolutely terrifying.
“Their home got destroyed, by the way,” Malinak says, adding that one tornado came within a half a mile of his family’s home in Elkhorn, Nebraska.
“Makes you count your blessings, doesn’t it?” Gray says.
While there were luckily many survivors, there was much property damage, many homes destroyed, and unfortunately some casualties in other places, like Oklahoma.
Those victims can be helped at Mercury One, where 100% of donations go to those in affected areas.
“If you can contribute, it would be greatly appreciated. There’s a lot of rebuilding to do,” Gray says.
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