Nebraska residents coping with storm damage

OMAHA, Neb. (WOWT) - A storm with winds surpassing 90 mph churned out six tornados in the area Wednesday, causing damage throughout the Omaha-metro area and beyond.

6 On Your Side was able to check out the damage in communities to the west, one Yutan resident emerged from his basement Wednesday to find significant damage to his home.

“The tree — the limbs came out of the tree and hit the house and that was it,” said Rich Hancock.

Yutan firefighters had to rescue his roof from a large tree.

“The fire department plugged most of the holes for me with plastic for tonight,” said Hancock.

As night fell, darkness took over west of Yutan with Highway 92 closed for several downed power lines. In Mead, most of the town was without power.

“Just go up to my sisters and hopefully the power comes on soon otherwise we’ll just stay there tonight,” said Jacob Glenn.

But Glenn’s kids have a night to remember.

“Our lights went out inside and there’s a tornado coming,” his son said.

The 6 First Alert team was actively reporting Wednesday’s damage in Omaha, Council Bluffs, and further east into Iowa.

In Iowa, about a mile of power lines were pulled down just outside of Council Bluffs.

Heavy storm damage was also reported near Beaver Lake, south of Plattsmouth.

Areas near Neola, Iowa, sustained a lot of damage in Wednesday’s storm. 6 First Alert Weather Team reported a tornado landed near Neola around 4:32 p.m. Hundreds of residents in the area remain without power.

An Iowa State Trooper reported a couple of semitrailers were blown over on Interstate 29, south of Bartlett, IA, Wednesday evening. He also said multiple semitrailers were blown over in Cass County along I-80.

Around 7 p.m., there were about 17,000 without power in the Omaha-metro area — most in Douglas, Sarpy, and Cass counties — and about 18,000 without power in Council Bluffs.

Residents in Columbus, NE, also reported heavy storm damage. Some homes in the area had their roof completely torn off due to the high winds.

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