‘Clean up and start over’: St. Libory neighbors recovering after tornado rips through community

ST. LIBORY, Neb. (KLKN) — Neighbors in St. Libory are sharing their experiences as they help families that lost everything rebuild on Monday.

Many are taking the first steps to rebuilding after a violent tornado coursed through the small town in Howard County.

“We clean up and start over, I guess,” said one man who lives in St. Libory.

The storm flattened homes and shocked the community.

“We have a quarter east of the damage, as well as two more quarters further east that a shelter belt got shredded through,” said Makayla Coufal. “There’s quite a bit of damage here. There are some cow/calf pairs still in the field, as well as newly planted corn acres where debris is just everywhere.”

Chris Hall was one of the storm chasers tracking the tornado and saw the destruction firsthand.

He had a calm demeanor when describing stopping on the side of the road Sunday after coming face-to-face with the storm.

“It was no quicker than when we had turned the corner, get around some trees, and there it was, planting on the ground and just about to cross the road in front of us,” Hall said.

Rural Radio Network providing video of countless trees knocked over, with debris scattered across town.

Cleanup crews found lost photos that got swept up by mother nature.

“It’s amazing what you find,” one man said.

Heartbreaking video shows the community banding together, combing through fields to help recover what’s been lost.

“Peppa Pig toys, granite counter tops,” said one of the volunteers said. “Crazy pick ups and crazy pieces thrown in all different kinds of directions.”

Many who live in the area said they know they aren’t alone, as support has come flooding in.

“I’m so thankful for those people reaching out to me on Facebook, and the phone calls who are willing to help either manually walk the field or shilling dump trailers,” Coufal said. “We appreciate any help we can get.”