Updated April 26, 2024 at 8:50 PM ET

OMAHA, Neb. — A tornado plowed through suburban Omaha, Nebraska, on Friday afternoon, damaging hundreds of homes and other structures as the twister tore for miles along farmland and into subdivisions. Injuries were reported but it wasn’t yet clear if anyone was killed in the storm.

Multiple tornadoes were reported in Nebraska but the most destructive storm moved from a largely rural area into suburbs northwest of Omaha, a city of 485,000 people.

Photos on social media showed heavily damaged homes and shredded trees. Video showed homes with roofs stripped of shingles, in a rural area near Omaha. Law enforcement were blocking off roads in the area.

Hundreds of houses sustained damage in Omaha, mostly in the Elkhorn area in the western part of the city, police Lt. Neal Bonacci said.

Police and firefighters are now going door-to-door helping people who are trapped.

Omaha Fire Chief Kathy Bossman said crews had gone to the “hardest hit area” and had a plan to search anywhere someone could be trapped.

“They’re going to be putting together a strategic plan for a detailed search of the area, starting with the properties with most damage,” Bossman said. “We’ll be looking throughout properties in debris piles, we’ll be looking in basements, trying to find any victims and make sure everybody is rescued who needs assistance.”

Omaha police Lt. Neal Bonacci said many homes were destroyed or severely damaged.

“You definitely see the path of the tornado,” Bonacci said.

In one area of Elkhorn, dozens of newly built, large homes were damaged. At least six were destroyed, including one that was leveled, while others had the top half ripped off.

There were dozens of emergency vehicles in the area.

“We watched it touch down like 200 yards over there and then we took shelter,” said Pat Woods, who lives in Elkhorn. “We could hear it coming through. When we came up our fence was gone and we looked to the northwest and the whole neighborhood’s gone.”

His wife, Kim Woods added, “The whole neighborhood just to the north of us is pretty flattened.”

Dhaval Naik, who said he works with the man whose house was demolished, said three people, including a child, were in the basement when the tornado hit. They got out safely.

KETV-TV video showed one woman being removed from a demolished home on a stretcher in Blair, a city just north of Omaha.

Omaha Police Chief Todd Schmaderer said there appeared to be few serious injuries, in part because people had plenty of warning that storms were likely.

“We not upon by a sudden storm,” Schmaderer said. “People had warnings of this and that saved lives.”

The tornado warning was issued in the Omaha area on Friday afternoon just as children were due to be released from school. Many schools had students shelter in place until the storm passed. Hours later, buses were still transporting students home.

Another tornado hit an area on the eastern edge of Omaha, passing directly through parts of Eppley Airfield, the city’s airport. Officials closed the airport to aircraft operations to access damage but then reopened the facility, Omaha Airport Authority Chief Strategy Officer Steve McCoy said.

The passenger terminal wasn’t hit by the tornado but people rushed to storm shelters until the twister passed, McCoy said.

Flight delays are expected Friday evening.

After passing through the airport, the tornado crossed the Missouri River and into Iowa, north of Council Bluffs.

Nebraska Emergency Management Agency spokesperson Katrina Sperl said damage is just now being reported. Taylor Wilson, a spokesperson for the University of Nebraska Medical Center, said they hadn’t seen any injuries yet.

Before the tornado hit the Omaha area, three workers in an industrial plant were injured Friday afternoon when a tornado struck an industrial plant in Lancaster County, sheriff’s officials said in an update on the damage.

The building just northeast of the state capital of Lincoln had collapsed with about 70 employees inside and several people trapped, sheriff’s officials said. Everyone was evacuated, and three people had injuries that were considered not life-threatening, authorities said.

Sheriff’s officials say they also had reports of a tipped-over train near Waverly, also in Lancaster County.

Two people who were injured when the tornado passed through Lancaster County were being treated at the trauma center at Bryan Medical Center West Campus in Lincoln, the facility said in a news release. It said the patients were in triage and no details were released on their condition.

The Omaha Public Power District reported that nearly 10,000 customers were without power in the Omaha area.

Daniel Fienhold, manager of the Pink Poodle Steakhouse in Crescent, Iowa, said he was outside watching the weather with his daughter and restaurant employees. He said “it looked like a pretty big tornado was forming” northeast of town.

“It started raining, and then it started hailing, and then all the clouds started to kind of swirl and come together, and as soon as the wind started to pick up, that’s when I headed for the basement, but we never saw it,” Fienhold said.

The Weather Service also issued tornado watches across parts of Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, Oklahoma and Texas. And forecasters warned that large hail and damaging wind gusts were possible.

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SAVANNAH, Ga. (WTOC) – A mold treatment company says Georgia ranks the seventh moldiest state in the country – and right across the Savannah River, South Carolina is No. 8.

That’s mainly because of the high humidity and heavy rainfall our area sees.

With humid summer months approaching, doctors here at Memorial Health say it’s more important than ever to be paying attention to any signs of mold in your home, or any symptoms you might be experiencing from that mold.

“Difficulty breathing, sinus problems, persistent headaches,” said Dr. Timothy Connelly.

Those are just some of the symptoms Connelly says you can experience from mold.

“It can cause everything from horrible asthma, and we have people coming to the ER, even today, I’ve admitted somebody with asthma,” said Connelly.

Connelly says as we continue to see higher levels of humidity, he’s seeing even more people coming in with those symptoms.

According to FDP Mold Remediation, a company specializing in treating mold, Georgia is seventh most moldy state in America, neighboring states Florida at No. 1 and South Carolina at No. 8.

The owner of The Mold Girl, an inspection company, said that’s because of the climate.

“The No. 1 cause of mold from, really in hot and humid climates, so all the way from South Carolina to Florida, is high relative humidity, moisture that’s in the air,” said Elizabeth Keefer, Certified Industrial Hygienist.

One of her biggest tips for you is to keep your windows closed, keeping extra humidity out of your house.

She also says it’s important to keep your home’s relative humidity level around 50%.

“Sometimes that means adding a dehumidifier,” said Keefer.

“That really is going to help you set-up for success because you’re lowering the moisture in your air,” Keefer added.

Another tip is to avoid super-steamy showers.

“That will increase your relative humidity to 90-100% immediately,” Keefer said.

To help, she says keep your exhaust fan running during the shower and 10 minutes after you’re done. Keefer says the first thing you should do if you see or smell mold in your home, is call a mold inspection company.

And Connelly says if you notice any symptoms, you should get with your health care provider.

Copyright 2024 WRDW/WAGT. All rights reserved.

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — The Panthers gave young quarterback Bryce Young another weapon on Thursday night.

Carolina selected wide receiver Xavier Legette out of South Carolina after trading up one spot in the NFL draft to No 32. Legette was the last of seven wide receivers selected in an offensive-heavy first round.

The 6-foot-1, 221-pound Legette possesses good size and speed and is coming off a highly productive season with 71 catches for 1,255 yards and seven touchdowns for the Gamecocks. He had no more than 18 receptions in a season in his first four years at South Carolina prior to emerging in 2023.

Legette gives the Panthers another option to go along with Diontae Johnson, Adam Thielen and last year’s second-round pick, Jonathan Mingo. There’s a possibility he could also be used on kickoff returns, too.

Panthers general manager Dan Morgan said Legette has the “dog mentality” he covets in players.

“He definitely has that about him,” Morgan said. “He’s a great young man, but you can tell he has that look in his eye. I think he’s not only a special player but a special person. … He’s big, he’s strong, fast and physical. He has a lot of qualities we just loved.”

Morgan said the team began to zero in on Legette after bringing him in for a meeting before the draft. Previously, the team had sent 10 members of the organization to Legette’s workout in Columbia, South Carolina, where Carolina wide receivers coach Rob Moore ran the drills.

Legette mentioned on social media before the draft that he thought the Panthers would take him if he fell to No. 33.

Turns out he was right.

“There was a good vibe there,” Legette said of the meeting.

Panthers coach Dave Canales said he likes the versatility that Legette brings after he was used in a number of roles in college.

“If you look at the versatile way the Gamecocks were able to use him whether it’s out of the backfield, jet sweeps, short crossers, down-the-field posts — there really isn’t much more we can do with receivers,” Canales said. “And he’s done it all.”

Legette was known as a physical receiver in college and plans to bring that to the next level.

“This is a grown man’s game and I feel like I’m a grown man,” Legette said.

This is second time in the past four years the Panthers have selected a South Carolina player in the first round after taking cornerback Jaycee Horn eighth overall in 2021. Horn has been very good when he’s played for the Panthers, but has struggled with injuries.

Legette used to go against Horn daily in practice a few years back.

“He is one of the reasons that I became the player that I am,” Legette said. “He made me better.”

The Panthers didn’t have a first-round pick entering the night. The team traded that pick — which turned out to be the No. 1 overall pick — to the Chicago Bears last year to move up to get Young. The Bears used that pick on quarterback Caleb Williams.

The Panthers traded the 33rd overall pick and one of their fifth-round picks to the Buffalo Bills for the 32nd pick and the Bills’ sixth-round selection.

Carolina now has one pick in each of the remaining six rounds, including the 39th overall selection.