At least 1 killed, 26 hurt after tornadoes lash Nebraska

At least one person was killed and 26 others injured when tornadoes struck parts of Nebraska on Monday, according to local hospitals.

Images televised by CNN showed two tornadoes moving through a predominantly rural area in Stanton County.

A large tornado had caused "significant damage" near Stanton, the Weather Channel reported on its Twitter feed. The National Weather Service reported several homes had been destroyed in Pilger.

“We need to search houses now. It’s all destroyed out here," one emergency responder radioed over scanner traffic, while another official mentioned seeing buildings "crumpled to the ground."

“We saw a couple people get pulled out of their house, pretty covered in blood, looked like the guy broke his arm," resident Bryan Mendlik told the Los Angeles Times. “Anybody that was on main street, if they weren’t in their basement, they would be hurt."

Mendlik gave the Los Angeles Times permission to share his photos of the destruction:

Faith Regional Health Services in Norfolk told the Los Angeles Times that it had received 16 patients in critical condition, with four more patients on the way; it also reported the one fatality.

Providence Medical Center in Wayne said it had two patients in stable condition, reportedly with laceration injuries, with a third patient on the way.

Pender Community Hospital said it had three patients in noncritical condition.

Much of eastern Nebraska and parts of Iowa were under a tornado watch. The entire region was under a "moderate" risk of severe storms through the rest of the day, the Storm Prediction Center reported.

Times staff writer Michael Muskal contributed to this report.

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