HALLAM, Neb. (AP) -- Emergency personnel in southern Nebraska continue to assess the damage from tornados that ravaged the area over the weekend.
The brunt of the storm hit Hallam on Saturday night, where a 73-year-old woman was killed and most of the town was leveled.
In addition to the death of Elaine A. Focken, 37 people were injured, authorities said.
Focken, who lived alone, was killed by flying debris after apparently being unable to reach her basement before her home was struck by a tornado.
More than a dozen tornadoes swept across the southern portion of the state, prompting Gov. Mike Johanns to declare a state of emergency.
The governor was taken by military helicopter Sunday to tour Hallam, where every home was damaged or destroyed, vehicles were flipped and splintered trees and downed power lines were strewn in the streets.
``I've never seen anything like this,'' Johanns said. ``I've been in public office a lot of years, but I've never seen anything like this.''
Most of the buildings in town had been condemned or declared unsafe.
Saturday's tornadoes capped two days of severe weather that knocked out power to hundreds of thousands of people in Nebraska, Iowa, West Virginia, Michigan, Ohio and Pennsylvania. Michigan authorities blamed three deaths on the storm - all due to trees falling on cars Friday.
Johanns said 158 homes were destroyed and 57 incurred major damage in Lancaster, Saline, Gage and Cass Counties.
In Saline County alone, the preliminary damage estimate was $1.5 million, emergency management coordinator B.J. Fictum said.
Residents of Hallam, a town of 276 people, were evacuated 25 miles north to Lincoln overnight. The Red Cross set up a staging area at Southwest High School in Lincoln.
By Sunday morning, the Nebraska National Guard and Nebraska State Patrol had surrounded what remained of the village to keep people from entering.
That move, authorities said, was a safety precaution because of the downed power lines and leaking propane tanks littering the area.
The smell of natural gas lingered in the air at Hallam, despite breezy conditions.
Several railroad grain cars were knocked off their tracks in the middle of town, the remains of a 50-foot grain silo draped over them like a soggy paper cup.
Pieces of twisted metal hung from bark-stripped trees and creaked in breeze.
``Hallam ... appears to be the area that was the epicenter of the storm,'' Johanns said. ``I don't think there was anything here that wasn't damaged or destroyed.''
Pat O'Brien, a commander with the Hallam Volunteer Fire and Rescue team, said Sunday it was unclear whether more than one tornado hit Hallam.
``If it was one tornado, it was a pretty big one,'' O'Brien said.
Resident Krista Parker, who serves as a volunteer firefighter, trudged through the streets of town, sweat streaming down her smudged face.
Her home was among those damaged.
``You can't even see the front door'' because of the debris, she said.
John and Beth Isakson, who raise Arabian horses in Hallam, said the barn housing their prize stallion was destroyed, but the horse received only a few cuts.
Some areas reported four to six inches of rain and widespread flash flooding. Authorities closed parts of U.S. Highway 77 and state Highway 41, said State Patrol spokeswoman Deb Collins.
Heavy damage from high winds and hail was reported in several southern Nebraska towns, including Firth, Wilber and Beatrice.
Ten homes in Swanton and Wilber were destroyed. More than 30 homes were destroyed or severely damaged in Clatonia.
Counties reporting damage included Furnas, Webster, Adams, Clay, Thayer, Fillmore, Saline, Gage, Lancaster and Cass.
Norris High School near Firth sustained heavy damage.
Several school buses lay on their sides in a parking lot. The roof of the school was peeled back in some areas. Seats in the school's auditorium were visible from the air.
Norris Public Schools Superintendent Roy Baker said it was hard to imagine that the school would be repaired in time for school in the fall, but that rebuilding would be done as quickly as possible. The last day of school for the district this year was Friday, the day before the tornado hit.
Six homes near the school were destroyed. Farm fields throughout the region were flooded and strewn with debris.
Johanns asked federal officials to declare a disaster, and said he expected the Bush administration to readily comply.
Brian Smith, a forecaster with the National Weather Service in Valley, said there were 19 confirmed tornado sightings, although that could have included multiple reports of the same tornado in different locations.
