Tornado Destroys Brothers’ Home, Leaves Them Stranded in Rubble

Roger Slatten received a phone call on Friday afternoon in Elkhorn, Nebraska informing him of an approaching tornado. He turned his vehicle around to head home where his wife Lindy and brother Royce lived. Upon arrival at their residence, Roger called ahead for Royce to evacuate with the two dogs. However, neither sister nor brother made it to safety as a 136 mph wind tornado ripped through their neighborhood, destroying their house in less than one minute. The brothers were running upstairs searching for Nico when they realized it was too late to reach the basement; debris started flying and soon both men found themselves being lifted from the building before being thrown into the air with piles of rubble crashing down around them as glass shards sliced through their bodies. Royce landed in his backyard, but Roger became buried under a pile of wreckage after getting one hand free to call 911 for help. First responders arrived and freed him before locating the injured Royce at another neighbor’s house who had run barefoot over debris to escape harm. The brothers were reunited in relief as rescuers later found Nico, while Rogan was rescued by a nearby animal shelter after being displaced from their home which was reduced to its basement foundation following complete destruction of most belongings and the collapsing of what would have been safe spaces such as lower level interiors or basements due to crumbling debris. The community is now coming together in support, with both brothers acknowledging that although this has been a traumatic experience for them, it’s heartening how much good seems to outweigh the bad despite their injuries and losses.