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Bellevue neighborhood still recovering one year after tornado

Posted at 10:10 PM, Jun 12, 2018
and last updated 2018-06-12 23:10:42-04

Last night's severe weather in Cass County had folks in Bellevue, very jittery.  One year ago this week, a couple of tornadoes roared through the city, destroying homes and ripping apart neighborhoods.

Winds of 135 miles an hour pounded the Hyda Hills neighborhood. 

12 months later, many folks have their homes back to 100 percent, but others still need work done. 

Reports of tornadoes southwest of Omaha last night made Aaron Galvan a tad nervous. 

"Yeah a little bit, I was a little...you know, terrified."

On June 17th last year, an EF-2 tornado tore through the Hyda Hills neighborhood in Bellevue.
The powerful storms left several homes in bad shape, and some totally lost.
Galvan didn't lose his house, but it was in poor condition. 

"The side of there was pushed out, all the windows were broken in, pieces of lumber sticking through the siding, all of that."

Galvan stayed in hotels and rental properties for months, before they could ultimately rebuild his house. 

"I thought that was pretty quick to be honest."

Others weren't so lucky, one house is still sitting condemned.Neighbors say the owner has had multiple problems getting it rebuilt. 

John Busbee could be considered fortunate.His home sustained around $70,000 of damage but was completely fixed before thanksgiving. Still, he grew frustrated that it took as long as it did. 

"So everybody is here the first day, they're here, they're promising the world and then nothing. We got all the insurance money in, all the down payments to get the work moving and then all of a sudden it was crickets," says Busbee. 

Today he looks around and sees some houses with work left. Busbee is happy at least his repairs aren't still underway.

"Based on the extent of the damage, I think we were one of the first major rebuilds."

Residents in that neighborhood will be celebrating the anniversary of that tornado on Saturday with a block party.