1 week Ago
The boxes haven’t all been unpacked yet at Brianna Longwell’s and Chad Pinegar’s new home. The couple moved back into their home in Elkhorn’s Ramblewood neighborhood on March 31. It’s a little different now compared to one year ago.
For one, there’s a new window in the kitchen for Longwell to look out. And the neighborhood is still quite empty as many people haven’t yet moved back after an EF4 tornado ravaged the neighborhood, and others, in Elkhorn as well as the Bennington and Blair areas. Still, returning home represents a milestone for Longwell, Pinegar and their two children, including 7-year-old son Ambrose, after the family was forced to temporarily relocate.
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“I feel so much lighter and so happy,” Longwell said. “I feel like I’m home.” One year after the most destructive tornado in a half-century rolled through the Omaha metro area, some are getting re-established in their lives while others remain without a permanent home.
Trail of destruction leaves scars Explore the people and stories along the path of the 2024 Elkhorn tornado The EF4 tornado carved a path of destruction for about 30 miles between the Elkhorn, Bennington and Blair areas. In Douglas County alone, 183 homes were completely destroyed while more than 740 other homes suffered some damage, according to statistics compiled by the county government along with Nebraska Game and Parks, Iowa Department of Natural Resources and other companies and agencies. Out of the 183 homes that were destroyed in the county, 100 of those homes were located in Omaha’s city limits.
Anna Bespoyasny, building superintendent for the city government, said an estimated 82 homes have been rebuilt. Overall, Bespoyasny said, the city has issued more than 1,900 building permits related to the tornado. Bespoyasny said the city has issued permits for a variety of projects — from roof repairs to full home recovery.
She added the Omaha City Council has waived more than $800,000 in permit fees due to the extraordinary circumstances of the storm. In other parts of Douglas County, the county's Environmental Services office has granted four building permits for homes to be completely rebuilt, including a new foundation, and 19 permits for homes to be substantially restored. Remarkably, the tornado did not take any lives.
Sudeer Neela’s home was one of those homes directly in the tornado’s path. Neela and his wife Priyanka were heading into the basement when the tornado struck their house in Elkhorn’s Arbor View neighborhood. Sudeer, who had the couple’s 2-year-old son in his arms, managed to escape injury.
Priyanka did not, requiring surgery afterward to treat her bleeding cuts, including behind her ears. While the couple is now back in their restored home, the experience has left the Neelas on edge. Sudeer Neela, who had never lived through a tornado before, said it took him months to sleep soundly.
He’s hyper-aware now whenever he hears there’s a chance for severe weather. “It affected me on a whole new level,” Neela said. “But I’m getting through it .
.. one day at a time.
” Brooke Denton and Cash Hendricks, 5, in their Elkhorn's Arbor View home that was hit one year ago by the Arbor Day tornado. Brooke Denton, who also lives in the Arbor View neighborhood, said she and her neighbors feel anxiety about the increasing threat of severe weather. “It’s just a level of anxiety that I would never wish upon anybody,” Denton said.
“I don’t think it will ever go away, just knowing that’s what we experienced.” A Minden, Iowa, man died from his injuries after a separate EF3 tornado tore through the Pottawattamie County town that same day. The two tornadoes were part of 47 tornadoes reported in Nebraska and Iowa to the National Weather Service on April 26, 2024.
Last year, the weather service office in Valley issued 130 tornado warnings , second most in the U.S. behind the office covering western Oklahoma.
'It was the right thing to do' Omaha building firm Charleston Homes rebuilt the Neelas’ home while an associated contractor restored Denton’s. The tornado struck 13 occupied homes Charleston had built, firm owner Marc Stodola said. Stodola added the tornado also heavily damaged more than 20 homes that were under construction.
Charleston had to demolish some of those homes and repair the others. Stodola was on a flight to Phoenix from Omaha when the tornado hit Elkhorn’s Arbor View neighborhood, which had homes originally built by Charleston. After receiving dozens of texts and voicemails informing him of the tornado upon landing, Stodola got on the first flight back to Omaha.
“My first priority was just trying to take care of the company and everything that we had. Then we made a decision to help everybody that was currently living in their home,” Stodola said. From that point on, Charleston Homes and associated contractors worked at a torrid pace, at one point completing five homes per week.
Usually the company builds four homes per week. “It was the right thing to do,” he said. Denton and the Neelas expressed gratitude for the work Charleston did.
Neela said Charleston reached out to him and his family “right away.” The back of Brooke Denton's house, which was rebuilt after the Arbor Day tornado last year. Denton said she met with Charleston executives to plan for rebuilding just two days after the tornado destroyed about 70% of her house.
Denton worked with one of Charleston’s contractors to rebuild the home. She didn’t have to wait long. She moved back into her home by the end of October.
“(I’m) just generally relieved to be back home,” she said. Longwell offered similar praise for the firm who rebuilt her and her husband’s home, Lincoln-based BK Restoration and Remodeling. “They were the best company that I’ve ever worked with,” Longwell said.
“They made me feel so heard and they were genuine. I felt like I could trust them with everything. They did an amazing job.
” ‘Ridiculous’: Couple frustrated by slow process The process of moving back home hasn’t gone as smoothly for Kristy and Terry Bicking. The couple secured a lease to an apartment 11 days after a tornado destroyed their house along Old Coach Road in Elkhorn. The couple couldn’t move into the apartment right away and had to stay in a hotel until they secured furniture, including a bed, a couch and cooking materials, from The Furniture Project, an Omaha nonprofit.
Planter boxes and stairs are seen next to debris and a wall from a destroyed house on Old Coach Road in Omaha. They remain in the apartment to this day, hoping to move to their rebuilt home early next month. Kristy Bicking said she and her husband first met with housing contractors in June.
She said she and her husband tried to secure a loan through the Federal Emergency Management Agency but ran into snags when the federal agency twice erroneously drafted their paperwork. Frustrated by the lengthy process, Bicking said she and her husband opted to get a loan from a bank despite a higher interest rate. “It was ridiculous,” Bicking said.
Furthermore, Bicking said the insurance money the couple received has not been enough to do much more than pay off the loan. “We had to pay for appliances ourselves,” Bicking said, adding that the couple has set money aside in case of potential change orders from contractors. While Bicking said many of her neighbors who lost their homes decided to move somewhere else, she and her husband are tied to the neighborhood, which she said was friendly and had minimal crime before the tornado struck.
The couple also has family ties. “Our grandkids don’t live far — they’re just up the road,” Bicking said. Photos: One year after the Arbor Day tornado Planter boxes and stairs are seen next to debris and a wall from a destroyed house on Old Coach Road in Omaha on Wednesday, April 23, 2025.
One year after the Arbor Day tornado, a lot of work is still going on to rebuild in the area. Brooke Denton and Cash Hendricks, 5, pose for a photo in their home in Omaha on Wednesday, April 23, 2025. Denton's home, located in Elkhorn's Arbor View neighborhood, was hit one year ago by the Arbor Day tornado.
The home was one of about two dozen homes rebuilt and restored by Charleston Homes. Cash Hendricks, 5, plays in his playroom at his home in Omaha on Wednesday, April 23, 2025. Brooke Denton's home, located in Elkhorn's Arbor View neighborhood, was hit one year ago by the Arbor Day tornado.
While about 70% of the house was destroyed, Cash's bedroom and playroom at the front of the house were mostly undamaged. Brooke Denton's dining area, which was fully rebuilt after the Arbor Day tornado last year, is pictured at her home in Omaha on Wednesday, April 23, 2025. Denton's home, located in Elkhorn's Arbor View neighborhood, was one of about two dozen homes rebuilt and restored by Charleston Homes.
Brooke Denton's kitchen, which was fully rebuilt after the Arbor Day tornado last year, is pictured at her home in Omaha on Wednesday, April 23, 2025. Denton's home, located in Elkhorn's Arbor View neighborhood, was one of about two dozen homes rebuilt and restored by Charleston Homes. Brooke Denton and Cash Hendricks, 5, pose for a photo in their home in Omaha on Wednesday, April 23, 2025.
Denton's home, located in Elkhorn's Arbor View neighborhood, was hit one year ago by the Arbor Day tornado. The home was one of about two dozen homes rebuilt and restored by Charleston Homes. Brooke Denton and Cash Hendricks, 5, pose for a photo on the back deck at their home in Omaha on Wednesday, April 23, 2025.
Denton's home, located in Elkhorn's Arbor View neighborhood, was hit one year ago by the Arbor Day tornado. The home was one of about two dozen homes rebuilt and restored by Charleston Homes. Cash Hendricks, 5, plays in his playroom at his home in Omaha on Wednesday, April 23, 2025.
Brooke Denton's home, located in Elkhorn's Arbor View neighborhood, was hit one year ago by the Arbor Day tornado. While about 70% of the house was destroyed, Cash's bedroom and playroom at the front of the house were mostly undamaged. The back of Brooke Denton's house, which was rebuilt after the Arbor Day tornado last year, is pictured at her home in Omaha on Wednesday, April 23, 2025.
Denton's home, located in Elkhorn's Arbor View neighborhood, was one of about two dozen homes rebuilt and restored by Charleston Homes. Dandelions grow across from a house destroyed by the Arbor Day tornado on Old Coach Road in Omaha on Wednesday, April 23, 2025. One year after the Arbor Day tornado, a lot of work is still going on to rebuild in the area.
Debris is pictured at a property on Old Coach Road in Omaha on Wednesday, April 23, 2025. One year after the Arbor Day tornado, a lot of work is still going on to rebuild in the area. A house on Old Coach Road in Omaha on Wednesday, April 23, 2025.
One year after the Arbor Day tornado, a lot of work is still going on to rebuild in the area. A house destroyed by the Arbor Day tornado is pictured on Old Coach Road in Omaha on Wednesday, April 23, 2025. One year after the Arbor Day tornado, a lot of work is still going on to rebuild in the area.
A pan sits in a yard on Old Coach Road in Omaha on Wednesday, April 23, 2025. One year after the Arbor Day tornado, a lot of work is still going on to rebuild in the area. Local Weather Get the daily forecast and severe weather alerts in your inbox!.
