ELKHORN, Neb. (NewsNation) — Communities in several states began cleaning up Monday after tornadoes flattened homes and buildings, widening a destructive outbreak of severe weather across the Great Plains.

Dozens of tornadoes wreaked havoc from Iowa to Texas, killing five people — one in Iowa on Friday and four in Oklahoma on Sunday, including an infant.

Punishing storms damaged a rural hospital, washed out roads and knocked out power to more than 40,000 customers at one point, Oklahoma officials said.

Tornadoes on Friday in Iowa and Nebraska also caused widespread destruction.

‘It feels like a warzone’

The damage was extensive in Sulphur, a town of about 5,000 people south of Oklahoma City, where a tornado crumpled many downtown buildings, tossed cars and buses and sheared the roofs off houses across a 15-block radius.

Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt said about 30 people were injured in Sulphur, including some who were in a bar as the tornado struck. Hospitals across the state reported about 100 injuries, including people apparently cut or struck by debris, according to the Oklahoma Department of Emergency Management. 

Authorities said the tornado in Sulphur began in a city park before barreling through the downtown, flipping cars and ripping the roofs and walls off of brick buildings. Windows and doors were blown out of structures that remained standing.

“It feels like a warzone,” said Allison Combs, a Sulphur business owner. “With the helicopters going all day, it’s just eerie.”

Digging out from damage

Residents in other states are also digging out from storm damage, and millions are still without power across Nebraska, Iowa, Kansas, Oklahoma and Missouri.

In Nebraska, twisters with wild winds up to 165 mph hovered over suburban Omaha, demolishing homes and businesses Saturday as it moved for miles through farmland and into subdivisions, then slammed an Iowa town.

“We came home and there was no home to really come to,” said Stacie Roe, an Omaha resident.

“We watched it touch down. We went to get shelter … but we could hear it going through. When we came back up, our fence was gone and we looked over to the northwest, and the whole neighborhood is gone,” said Pat Woods, an Omaha resident.

Police in Elkhorn, Nebraska blocked off roads to stop people from looting what’s left of the community.

Nebraska Gov. Jim Pillen and Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds spent Saturday touring the damage and arranging for assistance for the damaged communities. Formal damage assessments are still underway, but the states plan to seek federal help.

Stephanie Fox, a national Red Cross spokesperson, told NewsNation on Monday that the organization’s main priority is to ensure that people have shelter and their immediate needs are met.

“It’s really unfathomable what folks have gone through,” Fox said. “Just understanding that they may have lost their livelihood, they may have lost their belongings, in fact, some may have even lost their loved ones. It’s and incredibly vulnerable time for folks whether they’re directly impacted or just a part of the community.”

State of emergency declared

Stitt declared a state of emergency in 12 counties due to the fallout from the severe weather.

“What I saw downtown Sulphur — it’s unbelievable,” Stitt said during a visit to the hard-hit town. “You just can’t believe the destruction. It seems like every business downtown has been destroyed.”

“We do still have a lot of nursing homes, hospitals, medical facilities that took hits last night. So, we’re looking to make sure that they do have proper generator power and that these operations can still stand up,” said Annie Mack Vest, director of the Oklahoma Department of Emergency Management and Homeland Security.

White House officials said President Joe Biden spoke to Stitt on Sunday and offered the full support of the federal government.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.