HistoricOmaha

Family Says Storm Adds To Their Tragedy

POSTED: 8:08 pm CDT August 20, 2007

Older Neighborhoods Hit Hard
There were several neighborhoods hit harder than others Monday night in the Omaha metro. There was extensive damage from north Omaha to midtown.

Michael Eaves said the wind that whipped through his neighborhood near 28th and Miami streets was like nothing he had ever heard, and it left behind a path of destruction through his yard. Eaves said he was sitting on his porch when, in a matter of minutes, the storm blew in and knocked down some limbs. That sent Eaves into his house. After three loud booms, Eaves said he headed to the basement.

“I was crawling on the floor to get to the basement door — never heard noise like that in my life,” Eaves said.

Michael Haynes was watching football Monday night, waiting for his nephew to get home when he said he looked outside and saw his nephew and friend running towards the house. Seconds later, they two were in the basement listening to some sounds that worried them, Haynes said.

“I don’t know if it was a tornado or tree-top tornado,” said William Haynes. “We are done for two or three days.”

In Dundee, large trees — some 40 feet or taller — were knocked down by high winds and lightning. Near 51st and Western streets, a pair of trees fell. One covered the road and the other was split in half, damaging two nearby roofs.

Kurt Swanson said he had to chase a sign for his business.

“Just hanging on the fence at the job site, and just had one of our laborers come by and say our sign is down the street,” Swanson said.

KETV.com: Family Says Storm Adds To Their Tragedy

Extensive Cleanup In North Omaha

Monday nights storms left behind a swath of damage in both Nebraska and Iowa. Perhaps the hardest hit area — North Omaha.

Sister Najwa Magers who lives at 24th and Wirt says, “We kept hearing whistling and thundering and lightning so we ran to the basement. We got there just in time.”

Just in time to escape injury but Magers didn’t escape becoming the storm’s victim. Her home’s roof was ripped off.

“The bathroom was flooded. There was one bedroom in the back that was flooded. The basement was flooded and the kitchen and dining room,” Magers said.

Magers’ landlord, Betty Novotny, started cleaning up Tuesday morning but it’s not an easy task.

Novotny says, “Half the building’s gone. It sucked a flat roof off the building. Trees, bricks gone; water damage inside.”

City workers were helping in North Omaha with the massive cleanup. OPPD crews spent the day restoring power but hundreds remained without electricity Tuesday night.

For Magers, still no power, but some relief came her way. The Red Cross is giving her a place to stay.

If you or someone you know was left in uninhabitable conditions after the storm, you can call the Red Cross for help. The number is 343-7700.

WOWT.com: Extensive Cleanup In North Omaha
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