Lethal twin tornadoes tore through northeast Nebraska on Monday, leaving at least one person dead and 16 others injured, reports state.

A storm carrying two tornadoes, which touched down about one mile apart from one another, ripped through the town of Pilger and surrounding areas.

Like Us on Facebook

Pilger is a town of around 380 people and the damage done to the township and the surrounding region is said to be extensive.

Nebraska's Governor Dave Heineman declared an emergency for the area which allows him to send in the Nebraska National Guard, which has reportedly been on standby since the natural disaster took place.

According to The World-Herald, one of the twin tornadoes lifted off the ground many times before finally touching down.

The tornadoes destroyed much of Pilger, leaving residents devastated and in shock.

"More than half of the town is gone-absolutely gone," Stanton County Commissioner Jerry Weatherholt said. "The co-op is gone, the grain bins are gone, and it looks like almost every house in town has some damage. It's a complete mess."

Mike Unger, the Stanton County Sheriff, estimated that between 50% to 75% of the town was heavily damaged or destroyed. He reported that the local school is likely beyond repair.

The storms also caused damage to the nearby Cuming and Wayne counties, the Nebraska Emergency Management Agency announced in a news release.

The Agency is still assessing the damage caused to those areas and collecting casualty reports from officials on the ground, they stated.

The 17 victims were taken to three nearby regional hospitals, where one reportedly died from unspecified injuries and the remaining 16 underwent treatment for critical injuries.

May and June are considered peak months for tornado warnings in the Nebraska state and since the 1950s, the region has been struck by over 50 twisters.