The Death-Dealing Tornado at Omaha
THE BOLT OUT OF THE BLACKNESS—RESCUERS WORKING IN DARK—A CITY TO THE RESCUE—PATH OF THE STORM—INTERRUPTED MERRYMAKERS—FAMILY MEET DEATH TOGETHER—FREAK TRAGEDIES—BRAVE TELEPHONE GIRLS—VIVID TALE OF THE STORM.
Easter Sunday did not dawn very brightly in Omaha, but in the afternoon the sun came out warm and bright. The usual Easter promenaders thronged the streets in holiday attire. Then, as the afternoon wore on, clouds appeared in the sky. They gathered very quickly, came lower, and as they approached the earth there was suddenly a fall in the temperature. In a few minutes the sky turned black and then came the bolt of wind down out of the blackness. Through more than three miles of the city it cut a clean path of from three to seven blocks in width in which not a building was left whole. Then the storm mounted the bluffs and sped away to the northeast, carrying destruction with it.
Omaha's destruction was kept secret from the world for several hours by the storm, for all wire communication was broken down in the wrecking of the homes. Messengers with the news stories had to go to Lincoln, the state capital, to give out first definite news of the disaster.
During the early hours of the night uninjured citizens worked desperately to remove such persons as had been caught beneath razed buildings. No great number was killed in any one place. The wind swept along, taking its toll here and there.
No sooner had the great wind passed than a second violent gale swept over much the same territory, but with lessened fury. The total number of dead in Omaha and suburbs amounted to 154; the number of homeless to 3,179.
Fire started in the debris of many wrecked buildings in the Nebraska metropolis, and these were menaces for some time, as the fire companies were hindered by fallen walls and blockaded streets. A heavy rain followed the wind, however, and whilst it drenched the hundreds of homeless persons, it also put out the flames.
RESCUERS WORKING IN DARK
Rescue work started as soon as the people were able to hurry to the stricken district, but the night's work was by the light of lanterns and little was accomplished. The storm took down all the wires in its path and the electric power was shut off immediately to prevent further loss of life. All night the stricken section was patrolled by government troops from Fort Omaha.
With the arrival of daylight, a train-load of militia from Lincoln and the presence in the city of Governor Morehead, the work was systematized.