The sound of chain saws and other equipment can be heard throughout the metro as residents continue to clean up from Friday's severe thunderstorm.
Governor Pete Ricketts spent the day visiting communities impacted by the storm from Bayard to Plattsmouth. The State Emergency Operations Center at NEMA is partially activate. State agency staff continue to work with local emergency managers on assessing damage. Officials continue to ask people to avoid affected areas as emergency responders and utilities continue to work in response to the latest round of storms.
Douglas County Emergency Management Agency Paul Johnson reported Douglas County had no significant damage although there was a lot of tree damage with branches and green debris in the streets. The biggest concern is getting power restored.
At 5:00 p.m. Saturday, OPPD reports that there are still nearly 25,000 customers still without service. OPPD reports this is one of the top four largest outages in its history. There were more then 75,000 customers without service immediately after the storm. MidAmerican Energy in Iowa reports there area about 1,200 customers without service in Council Bluffs and the surrounding area.
Sarpy County was hit hardest by the storm. Several roads remain closed; Highway 34 from Highway 75, 108th to 126th on Highway 370 and 108th to Highway 50 at Platteview. There were no major injuries or fatalities in Sarpy County. The National Weather and the Sarpy County Emergency Management Agency are doing site visits in that area with heavy structural damage including Hyda Hills and Normandy. Disaster declarations are being considered by Bellevue and Papillion.
Sarpy County EMA will be putting a declaration together for the county. In Washington County, Emergency Management Director Bill Pook reported most of the power was restored in Arlington. The streets have been cleared. In Dodge County, 900 customers were still without service in Nickerson, Winslow and Hooper. The lack of power may affect a lift station - lagoon in Nickerson. A back-up generator was not available but debris has been removed from the streets.