On July 12, 1979, the small community of Waterloo, Nebraska was struck by an unthinkable tragedy when first responders here died after responding to a false alarm.
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According to new reports, five first responders in this small town along the Platte River in eastern Nebraska were called out to assist a car that was seen in a ditch.
Enroute, their journey would be cut short by an oncoming train and three of the first responders died as a result.
Steve Campbell, Sterling Embrey and Terry Mazur made the ultimate sacrifice on July 12, 1979. They died after responding to an emergency call. And as if tragedy wasn't bad enough, the call turned out to be a false alarm.
In 1979, Waterloo, Nebraska had 450 residents. Today there are just shy of 900. With another anniversary comes another memorial for the fearless lives of the lost first responders in Waterloo. Their dedication to the Waterloo community surely will never be forgotten.
Anniversaries of tragedy are opportunities to honor the fallen. This is Nebraska's chance to join Waterloo in doing so today.
Nebraska has had its share of tragedy. Read here about another horrible day in our state.
Have you ever wondered what it was like in the 1930s in Nebraska? Life in the 1930s in Nebraska was a time of growth and change, triumph and disappointment. But as different as the world was back then, there are some things that have stayed more or less the same. These historic photos of Nebraska depict what our state's towns and cities looked like in the 1930s and early 1940s.
32. Auction. Farmer after farmer in the drought area is forced to see his few possessions to go on the block of the auctioneer as drought drives him from his homestead and makes him a propertyless migrant - 1936
These historic photos of Nebraska were originally commissioned by the Farm Security Administration and is available via the Library of Congress and other public sites. The photographers concentrated most of their attention on the more populous eastern part of the state. We're so fortunate to have these photos depicting life in the 1930s in Nebraska to remind us of what yesterday looked like and to give us a sense of pride in our Nebraska roots.
Nebraska has seen some pretty terrifying and destructive tornadoes over the years, but none was deadlier than the outbreak of storms that struck on Easter Sunday, March 23, 1913 - some of the worst tornadoes in Nebraska history. The tornadoes killed a record number of people - more than 100 - and caused millions of dollars of damage in eastern Nebraska.
When the 1913 tornado in Nebraska struck, there were no weather radars back then, no TV meteorologists to tell people to take cover. The day dawned warm and sunny, which was a welcome break from the chilly spring weather.
By 5 pm, the lovely day turned into a stormy nightmare. A huge storm system formed at least four tornadoes that would rip through several villages and towns in Nebraska. Several more tornadoes spawned that day in Iowa from the same storm system.
These pictures show the devastation caused by the massive tornado in Omaha. Although the Fujita Scale - the method by which tornado intensity is measured - didn't exist then, the Easter Sunday tornadoes were later classified as F-4s, just one step lower than the most severe category.
In Omaha alone, as many as 2000 homes and buildings were leveled. A pool hall in north Omaha was not only destroyed by the storm; a gas line was broken in the tornado and the building ignited, killing 25 people inside.
It's hard to pinpoint exactly how many people were killed in the tornado outbreak, partly because there were seven tornadoes that ripped through both Nebraska and Iowa from the same storm system. Methods of reporting and transmitting information were much less sophisticated in 1913, and sometimes facts were changed, lost, or muddled from one outlet to the next. Records of the deaths range from 101 to 168.
What we do know for sure is that the wicked storms, some of the worst Nebraska tornadoes - and the one that struck Omaha in particular - were incredibly intense and extremely destructive. But as a testament to the spirit of Nebraska people, life went on. The next day, cleanup and rebuilding efforts began in earnest, and the city rose from the rubble.
This tornado outbreak, spawning some of the worst tornadoes in Nebraska history, left hundreds of people dead, injured, and homeless. It's one of Nebraska's greatest tragedies, and one that will hopefully never be matched. One of the reasons the 1913 outbreak was so deadly was the lack of forecasting and advanced warning technology. Fortunately, with today's technology - including television and internet warnings, as well as specialized weather radios - even the most destructive tornadoes are less deadly than the 1913 storms.
