ELKHORN, Neb. (KMTV) — Last year, reporter Molly Hudson was in Elkhorn watching as thousands of volunteers came together to help neighbors hit hard by the Elkhorn-Blair tornado. She noticed these volunteers were organized by community organization and non-profits, not a government agency.
BROADCAST TRANSCRIPT:
Justin Philp races through the storm with his kids in the car. His wife, Monika, was in their basement in Blair. The tornado beats him home.
"You never think you are going to be in that scenario," Justin said.
He arrived to find Monika was OK.
"Even though it was like your house is destroyed, but I am like, I am just so grateful to see them, that they are alive, that like nothing else matters, like we will figure this out," Monika said.
So much cleanup to do, with little help from local governments.
"I guess I don't know who I thought was coming, but I thought it was going to be government-type stuff, and it was all private groups," Jusin said.
In Elkhorn, volunteers pour into the Relevant Center.
"For us, it wasn't really an option. We were right here, and we knew we needed to respond," said Pastor Ronnie Rothe, Revelent Community Church.
Omaha Rapid Response deploying volunteers from there.
"You just have your chainsaws ready, you have your trailers ready, you have your people ready," said Ken Gruber, president of Omaha Rapid Response.
And the outpouring of support was overwhelming. 3,000 people on the first day and 10,000 a week later.
Gruber says communication between nonprofits and government agencies is often the biggest challenge, but meetings helped strengthen those relationships and plans.
Douglas County Emergency Management told Molly, government agencies are not authorized to organize volunteers when a storm impacts private properties, which is why these local organizations stepped in.
Molly: "If you could pick one word to describe this community over the last year, what would that word be?"
Ronnie: "I think the word that I would pick is willing... that our community was really willing to do whatever it took to help."
Douglas County Emergency Management says if another similar storm hits, there will now be a single, countywide unified command staff comprised of representatives from all impacted communities, streamlining communication.
Monika and Justin are still rebuilding. But because of the support they received, Justin now volunteers with Omaha Rapid Response.
