Severe Storm, Tornadoes derails train, damages buildings in Nebraska
Pastor Dale Morgan
Severe Storm, Tornadoes derails train, damages buildings in Nebraska*
By NATE JENKINS,
Associated Press Writer
AURORA, Neb. - A storm bearing rain, hail and tornadoes struck central
Nebraska Thursday night, damaging businesses, derailing train cars,
tearing down trees and disrupting power to thousands.
A possible tornado touched down near Aurora, about 70 miles west of
Lincoln, damaging a few businesses and damaging at least one house on
the outskirts of town.
There were no immediate reports of deaths or injuries.
Tornadoes were also reported in Kearney, about 60 miles west of Aurora,
where 40 rail cars were blown off the tracks outside the city limits.
There were reports of downed trees and power lines throughout Kearney,
and reports of damage on the University of Nebraska at Kearney campus
and at a county fairgrounds.
Downtown Aurora appeared mostly untouched by the storm, but there were
twisted trees and metal buildings on the outskirts. State officials
closed down a section of Interstate 80 nearby because of downed power lines.
State officials were headed to Kearney to assess the damage. Jen Rae
Hein, spokeswoman for Gov. Dave Heineman, said the state's emergency
operations center was set up Thursday evening.
Buffalo County residents were warned to remain indoors and travel was
discouraged.
Nebraska Public Power District spokesman Mark Becker said 12,000 Kearney
customers were without power Thursday evening.
The National Weather Service issued several advisories for Nebraska and
Kansas into Friday morning, including flooding warnings for areas
already struggling from heavy rains earlier in the week. That storm
system dumped 7 inches of rain on some parts of central Nebraska.
___
Associated Press writer Timberly Ross in Omaha contributed to this report.