Tornadoes in Iowa, Oklahoma and Nebraska kill at least 4 and injure 100 or more

Iowa, Oklahoma and Nebraska were hit by tornadoes over the weekend, which have resulted in four deaths and at least 100 people injured. According to NPR, four of the deaths occurred in Oklahoma with much of the destruction centered in Sulphur, Oklahoma. Thirty of the reported injured people are located in Sulphur, also.

The storms devastated various areas in their paths, notably Sulphur and Elkhorn, Nebraska, just outside of Omaha.

During a visit to Sulphur, Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt said, “I’ve seen a lot of damage. But what I saw in downtown Sulphur — it’s unbelievable. It seems like every business in downtown has been destroyed,” per NPR.

Stitt announced states of emergency in Carter, Cotton, Garfield, Hughes, Kay, Lincoln, Love, Murray, Okfuskee, Oklahoma, Payne and Pontotoc counties on Sunday to “get all the help that those communities need,” he said in a video post to X.

How Zack Bryan is helping the Elkhorn community recover

Tornadoes ravaged Douglas, Washington and Lancaster Counties in Nebraska, all of which were included in Gov. Jim Pillen’s post-tornado emergency declaration.

The Nebraska Emergency Management Act allows access to funds to help communities recover from storm damage, but the governor must make an emergency proclamation. Pillen’s proclamation said, “The actions necessary to assist in meeting the emergency conditions and subsequent impacts of these events present a burden on the storm impacted areas and required state resources,” per the Nebraska Examiner.

In the wake of the storms’ devastation, country singer Zach Bryan set out to help. While in town for performances with his band, he aided volunteers in clean-up efforts in Elkhorn.

In a post to instagram, Bryan showcased storm damage alongside a caption reading, “As an American and someone who lived in Omaha for some pretty formidable years of my life, I want to offer some honest prayers and hopes to the communities affected by the tornadoes that tore through them.”

“The band and I are standing with you guys as we are playing some shows in Omaha. I am so sorry to anyone that is having to deal with picking up the pieces of their homes and their lives,” Bryan said. “Without taking credit from the thousands of people lending a hand who have roots here, we love you so much and we’ll do all we can to help.”

Destruction in Iowa after over a dozen tornadoes hit

KETV NewsWatch 7 reported one man injured by a tornado in Minden, Iowa, on Friday has died. He succumbed to his injuries after being admitted to the ICU on Saturday.

Half of the town of Minden was destroyed by the tornado, the Pottawattamie County Sheriff’s Office said.

Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds announced an emergency disaster declaration on Saturday for Pottawattamie County.

“We got DNR that’s on the ground. So, they make sure that we’re getting the scraps put away properly to help facilitate that process and then we’ll just assess what we need to do next, what next steps are,” Reynolds said.

The state saw over a dozen tornadoes on Friday alone, “half of which were rated EF-2, which means they had wind gusts between 111-135 miles per hour,” NPR reported.