Tornado shreds Arkansas stores, homes
Pastor Dale Morgan
Tornado shreds Arkansas stores, homes*
POSTED: 0443 GMT (1243 HKT), February 24, 2007
Story Highlights
• NEW: 78 people spending night in shelters, official says
• KTHV: Four suspected looters arrested; curfew in effect
• Police: 12 people hurt in Arkansas
• Possible tornadoes in Mississippi, Louisiana
DUMAS, Arkansas (CNN) -- A tornado shredded several businesses and homes
in a small Arkansas town Saturday, injuring about a dozen people, some
of them seriously, police told a local TV station.
Seventy-eight people in Dumas were spending the night in shelters set up
after the storm, said Tina Owens of Arkansas Emergency Management. A
curfew was in effect until 7 a.m. Sunday.
"Right now were just trying to assess the damage and take care of the
citizens' needs for this evening," she said.
"We'll definitely look at the recovery efforts, but right now our
immediate effect is to deal with those citizens with injuries and making
sure we've got those people taken care of tonight."
Police have arrested four people suspected of looting, KTHV reported.
The storm slammed into one of the town's main thoroughfares, destroying
most of the businesses along U.S. 65, including a Fred's department
store, where employee Bobbie Thomas was working.
"We all got on the floor," Thomas said. "All the debris was falling on
us ... and I said, 'Lord, all I want you to do is save us today, because
it's in your hands.'" (Watch buildings that have been turned to
splinters, cars crushed Video)
Fred's was among several buildings destroyed by the storm, the station
reported. The National Weather Service reported that parts of cars were
hanging in trees in the storm zone.
There were no reports of fatalities, but about a dozen people were
reported injured, some seriously, Arkansas State Police Cpl. Ray Siggers
told KTHV.
James Robinson of Winchester told The Associated Press he saw a black
cloud approaching and pulled into a McDonald's parking lot.
"It sounded just like a locomotive train, not real fast," Robinson told
AP. He said he helped a woman into the restaurant, and then hid in the
walk-in freezer, according to AP.
Damage from possible tornadoes was also reported in Mississippi and
Louisiana.
The National Weather Service said damage that occurred early Saturday in
Bossier City, Louisiana, was consistent with an EF-1 type tornado under
the new Enhanced Fujita (EF) scale for rating twister damage.
Wind speeds were estimated between 90 and 100 mph.
Several Dumas restaurants, a Mad Butcher grocery store and some nearby
homes were leveled, KTHV reported. Video from the scene showed several
buildings rendered nearly unrecognizable. A sign for a street located a
mile away was lying in the grocery store parking lot.
The Salvation Army, the Red Cross and a local Mennonite chapter was
helping residents whose homes were damaged.
The storm also overturned a tractor-trailer in a store parking lot and
destroyed an electricity substation, which knocked out power to the
area, AP reported.
The National Weather Service said it had received a report that parts of
cars were hanging in trees north of Dumas along U.S. 65. The possible
tornado struck just before 3 p.m. CT (4 p.m. ET). (NWS storm reports
from past three hoursexternal link)
Police said they were making a door-to-door search for victims,
according to The Associated Press. Emergency crews called for ambulances
from a nearby county, AP reported.
Dumas and the surrounding region is located in what experts call
"tornado alley," a zone across the nation where twisters often form.
Damage from a possible tornado was also reported in Tichnor, in southern
Arkansas County, just northwest of Dumas. Residents reported a tornado
passed near the Tichnor post office, the National Weather Service said.
Severe storms with tornado threats were moving at least 60 mph, and
stretched from northern Louisiana to Arkansas. The line of storms was
heading into northwest Mississippi and toward southwest Tennessee.
Staff from the Arkansas Department of Emergency were en route to Desha
County to assess damage and injuries, spokeswoman Tina Owens told CNN.
"Hopefully it's hit in an area where not too many people are affected,"
she said. Owens said the agency had only received reports of minor
damage so far in the mostly rural area.
In Texas, dozens of grass fires were fueled by winds reaching 60 mph, AP
reported. Flames destroyed three homes near Midland, and in Fort Hood
fires prompted evacuations, authorities told AP. No injuries were reported.