storm
Tornadoes cause severe damage in the USA
Several tornadoes caused severe damage in the US state of Nebraska. photo
© Nikos Frazier/Omaha World-Herald/AP/dpa
Several dozen tornadoes have caused devastation in parts of the USA. Despite major damage, the outcome was unscathed for the people – politicians are calling it a “miracle”.
Photos and videos showed buildings of which only a mountain of rubble remained. There were also reports of around two dozen injuries, but there were no fatalities. In addition, the power went out in thousands of households. According to estimates by the weather service, the “Twister” raged with wind gusts of around 215 kilometers per hour.
“We were very fortunate that there were very few injuries,” said Omaha Police Chief Todd Schmaderer. The warning systems in the city, which has around half a million inhabitants, worked well. That saved people’s lives. “It is an extraordinary miracle that we survived such a storm without fatalities,” said Nebraska Governor Jim Pillen during a visit to the site.
Industrial building collapses
In Lancaster County, around 70 people were rescued from an industrial building that collapsed in the storm, the reports said. On its destructive path, a tornado moved across the Missouri River into the neighboring state of Iowa. There he caused serious damage in the small town of Minden. Around 50 houses were completely destroyed.
On Friday and Saturday alone, dozens of tornadoes and violent hurricanes were reported in five states, CNN reported. Severe weather warnings were in effect for around nine million residents.
Experts attribute the increase in natural disasters in the USA – storms, floods and forest fires – to the consequences of climate change.