Videos: Tornadoes blow rooftops, damage houses in parts of US, more on forecast

Destructive tornadoes tore through the city of Omaha in Nebraska and Iowa on Friday afternoon, damaging hundreds of homes and structures in the two US states. Three people were reported injured due to the impact of the tornadoes.

Multiple tornadoes were reported in at least five US states, with the most destructive storm moving from rural areas into the suburbs northwest of Omaha, a city with a population of 485,000.

Besides, 19 other devastating squalls and 45 hailstorms were reported after a severe weather outbreak on Friday.

Photos and videos on social media showed destroyed homes and uprooted trees, as storms ripped off rooftops in rural areas near Omaha. Law enforcement blocked off roads in the affected areas.

Hundreds of houses were damaged in Omaha, particularly in the Elkhorn area in the city’s western part, according to Omaha police Lt. Neal Bonacci.

Meanwhile, police and firefighters were conducting door-to-door searches to assist trapped individuals.

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 the most damage,” the AP said, quoting Bossman.

Some homes in Elkhorn, in the neighbourhood of Omaha, suffered extensive damage, with newly built houses among the structures wrecked or levelled.

Emergency vehicles swarmed the affected areas, with residents describing the tornado’s impact as devastating.

“We watched it touch down like 200 yards over there, and then we took shelter,” said another eyewitness, 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 neighbourhood was gone.”

Three people, including a child, were in the basement when the tornado struck a demolished house, and they managed to escape safely. Only two individuals with minor injuries have been transported for treatment, according to Bonacci. A local TV video showed one woman being removed from a wrecked home on a stretcher in Blair, a city just north of Omaha.

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

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.

Forecasters issued tornado warnings across several states — parts of Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, Oklahoma and Texas — for Saturday, also warning of potential large hail and strong winds.