Governor Dave Heineman says he’s very grateful that no one was seriously hurt in Sunday morning’s severe weather and likely tornado that hit Omaha. Dozens of homes and businesses are damaged and several were destroyed by the strong winds and possible twister. Heineman says, “It’ll take another week, I’m sure, to survey the damage and to determine what federal, state assistance may be available.”No deaths and no serious injuries are reported, which Heineman says is nothing short of miraculous. “Thank God for that that we all made it through this,” the governor says.
Heineman has been in contact with Omaha Mayor Mike Fahey and they will determine what steps to take regarding federal assistance. Heineman says, “The damage was very extensive, more homes destroyed than at any other time here in the last ten days, of roof blown all off.”
The Governor toured the tornado-damaged area Sunday morning with a senior FEMA representative. Heineman says the damage has to be tallied before any financial assistance is granted, though he was encouraged by what he saw. “We just saw the resiliency of Nebraskans. Their spirits were up. Everybody was already about cleaning up, but again it’s a very difficult situation right now,” he says. Heineman applauds police and fire crews for a quick response.
With the storm striking at 2:30 in the morning, most people were asleep and Heineman says he’s just stunned that no lives were lost.