Tornadoes Reported in 4 US States
Pastor Dale Morgan
Tornadoes Reported in 4 US States*
Sunday February 25, 2007 1:01 PM
By JON GAMBRELL
Associated Press Writer
DUMAS, Ark. (AP) - Authorities went door to door in search of an unknown
number of people who remained unaccounted for after severe storms swept
through southern Arkansas, shredding home and businesses and injuring at
least 27 people.
Residents reported seeing multiple tornadoes Saturday in Arkansas,
Mississippi, Louisiana and Kansas. The National Weather Service
confirmed that a twister touched down near Lucas in central Kansas.
The storms knocked out electricity across the area. They occurred as a
massive system that caused blizzard conditions in the Midwest moved
through the region.
At Fred's Dollar store, employees ducked as items came raining from the
shelves. When it was over, the store was nothing more than a tangle of
twisted metal and crumbled concrete blocks.
``I hit the floor. Lord, all the debris was falling on us: the iron, the
tin,'' said Bobbie Thomas, who works at the store. ``I said 'Lord, all I
want you to do is save us today. It's in your hands.'''
Forecasters said the damage could have been done by a tornado or by
straight-line winds that could have exceeded 70 mph. They were examining
debris patterns and looking for clues about where the storms traveled.
James Robinson of Winchester said he pulled into a McDonald's parking
lot and ran from his car when he saw a black cloud coming. ``It sounded
just like a locomotive train, not real fast,'' said Robinson. He said he
helped a woman into the store, then hid in the restaurant's walk-in freezer.
Damage was reported in a five-mile-long, half-mile-wide swath to the
south and east of Dumas, which is about 90 miles southeast of Little Rock.
The National Weather Service said it received a report of cars being
thrown into trees. Authorities said a couple in Urbana were injured when
their mobile home blew away, and a truck carrying wood chips was blown
off a roadway. A tractor-trailer flipped over in a parking lot.
In Indianola, Miss., a church was nearly split in half as tornadoes
swept through the area, according to the Sunflower County Sheriff's
Office. In Louisiana, at least two homes were destroyed and dozens more
were damaged in the northern and central part of the state.
Elsewhere, winds reaching 60 mph helped fuel dozens of grass fires
across Texas, destroying three homes near Midland and forcing
evacuations at Fort Hood, authorities said. No injuries were reported.
About 37,000 homes and businesses were without power after winds blew
down power lines.
In Oklahoma, high winds knocked out power to more than 10,000 homes and
destroyed two mobile homes. Three people suffered minor injuries,
authorities said.
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Associated Press writers Thomas Peipert in Dallas, Sean Murphy in
Oklahoma City and Steve Brisendine in Kansas City, Mo., contributed to
this report.