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Tornado takes roof off Bayard nursing home

The Grand Island Independent - 6/13/2017

BAYARD - A tornado going through Bayard ripped the roof off a nursing home in the community.

Bayard Police Chief Zack Douglas told the Star-Herald that authorities are currently evacuating the Chimney Rock Villa, the local nursing home. Residents are being evacuated to the high school after the roof was torn off the building.

No injuries were reported. Douglas said sirens alerted residents of the approaching tornado at about 7 p.m. and the tornado came through the town about ten minutes later. He said that the tornado first touched down at the sugar factory, then struck the Chimney Rock Villa and "kept going from there" in a diagonal path.

School superintendent Travis Miller said that the high school is a storm shelter through the Red Cross. Fire officials contacted the school district and asked them to take residents from the Chimney Rock Villa. The school district has also provided a bus to aid in evacuating the residents.

"We were happy to help out and do whatever we can to help our community during this crisis," he said.

Miller was among the residents who took cover as the tornado traveled its path through the community. Miller, his wife, five children, niece and nephew and even the family dog were in a storage room under the stairs as the tornado went through the community. He said that the family prayed as they listened to the loud sounds of the tornado.

Afterward, Miller said, he checked his home and the neighbor's home before checking the school district buildings and providing assistance with the Villa residents.

School staff, principals, teachers and parents are at the high school volunteering to help as the Villa residents are being brought to the high school.

"Many of these people have had damages to their own houses, but are here, giving of themselves," Miller said.

Miller reports that a portion of the high school roof was lost over the part of the building containing the wood shop. He said they also lost some trees and the elementary school lost power.

Some homes and vehicles were damaged as the tornado came through the community. One family had to be assisted in getting out of their home after a tree fell on the home, Douglas said. Damages are to areas north of Eighth Street.

Meteorologist David Levin of the National Weather Service said that the damage occurred at the same time that radar indicated a tornado going over the community.

The scale of the tornado is not yet known. The National Weather Service will send a survey team to the area, likely on Tuesday, Levin said.

Cell phone communication in the community has been troublesome, but officials report that they have radio communications.

The tornado was part of a strong weather system that plowed through the area Monday night, June 12.

Just after 6 p.m. a tornado was reported on the ground southwest of Harrisburg in Banner County around Highways 71 and 88. Several other tornadoes touched down briefly in northern Kimball County, meteorologist Kate Cotsakis with the National Weather Service said.

As storms moved throughout Scotts Bluff County, Tim Newman, Region 22 Emergency Management director, said they were looking at several different tornadoes on the radar in Banner and Scotts Bluff counties. There was no reported tornado activity in the immediate Scottsbluff-Gering area at 7 p.m.

However, downed power poles were reported in Minatare, Gering and Scottsbluff. As of 9:30 p.m., the NPPD website was reporting that power outages affected more than 200 people and put restoration of services at 1 a.m.

Brief power outages throughout the area also resulted in fire crews checking alarms at businesses throughout Scottsbluff and Gering.

Reporter Jerry Purvis contributed to this report.

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