OGALLALA, Neb., July 20–-Just a little after six p.m. on Monday night, the tornado shown above destroyed homes in northeast Ogallala. 15-year old Erica Towell captures the twister with her family's camcorder from the backyard picnic table. Thankfully no one was hurt.

It has caused a lot of damage but only minor injuries as many Ogallala residents say they are glad to have survived a powerful tornado that hit the northern part of their town.

Shane Lapp, Homeowner

Shane Lapp, a homeowner expresses what he saw, “We saw the tail drop on it, and I took off on a dead run to my house, and I didn't quite make it and the tail hit these houses right here and it just exploded and all I saw was the debris coming straight at me so I grabbed my dog and by that time he had already started coming up because he's just a pup. He came off the ground and I grabbed his chain and pulled him towards me and I ended up wrapping his chain around my leg and just cuddled in next to my trailer and let all that stuff just beat me as it went by. The metal just rolled down the side of my house taking the windows out and I ended up taking a Tonka truck up the side of my head.”
It will take many families a long time to get their lives back together from this disaster, but as the tornado was forming it looked like it could do more damage. Natalie Beck, an Ogallala resident says, “Our neighbor saw it forming from his porch and he said he couldn’t see the rotation, but you could see it get wider, and wider and it was just unreal.”  And the governors office was in town Tuesday to do what they could to help residents.

Gregg Beam, Governor's office

Gregg Beam of the Governor’s office explains, “This morning I came on a tour with the city manager and other officials we looked at the mobile home park, we looked at the elderly home, we also looked at the single family homes that were damaged by the storm last night.”
There are a lot of people that are thankful that this tornado didn’t cause any injuries even though in the mobile home court there was some total destruction of homes.

"Displaced lives"

“Basically half of the roof is gone, inside, it actually the tornado picked it up and set it back down on it’s foundation again and half the roofs gone and it’s just pouring water on the inside, it’s just a total loss,” explains Randy Hartsuiker, a homeowner.
Another homeowner, Janalee Evans says, “Well, we’re just waiting to see, they’re going to put the trailer back on the blocks and then go from there I guess. We stayed in a motel last night.”

     Janalee Evans, Homeowner

 “It blew out some windows and broke some things that were hanging on the walls, got everything cleaned up, but can’t vacuum or nothing because there isn’t any electricity. We’re just waiting,” continues Evans.
     While the owners are waiting and assessing the damage, the city is pitching together to help everyone out. “The city of Ogallala, they’re helping out quite a bit, they’re bringing machinery in to help clean all this up, they’re feeding everyone lunch down here at the ballpark at noon. Everybody’s pulling together, everybody’s trying to help out because this is a pretty big ordeal,” explains Wade Beard, a resident in Ogallala.
     The feeling is the same throughout the neighborhood. Relief that no one was hurt and advice that the warnings should be taken more seriously. Hartsuiker continues, “They better take them more seriously, without a doubt, they definitely do. When the warnings hit, when those clouds come over like that they need to pay more attention, for sure.”
     Evans says, “A lot of people sit and watch them come and they should be finding some cover because it hits real quick. Well, it could’ve been worse. I’m just grateful and thankful that we’re still alive, that’s what I’m grateful for, you can always replace other things, but you can’t replace your life.”
     Beard explains, “It’s amazing nobody got hurt, it could’ve been a lot worse than what it was, just lucky that it was structure damage.”
     No one is without shelter. Most people are staying with relatives while looking for a new place to live. They are just thankful to be alive.
 

MULLEN, Neb., July 20–-Ogallala is not alone in the clean up efforts from Monday night’s storms.

After hitting Ogallala, the storm moved north east into Arthur and Hooker Counties where it caused more damage. The National Weather Service reported 60 to 70 mile per hour wind gusts, and residents claim to have received over three inches of rain.

 

UNL University of Nebraska-Lincoln High Plains Climate Center

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