Arkansas Tornado Causes Massive Damage and Knocks Off Power to Tens of Thousands of People

At its height, Entergy had 54,278 customers without power, according to spokesperson Matt Ramsey. “The number will go down quickly as we have started the restoration process,” he said. Ramsey said traffic is a major issue as trees, debris, and vegetation block roads while scouts assess the damage.

“We have both transmission and distribution damage, lots of broken power lines and some broken structures and poles,” he said. Much of the damage in the greater Little Rock area, he said, is in residential areas inaccessible without heavy machinery.

“And some damaged homes and businesses will need repairs by a licensed electrician to safely receive power,” Ramsey said. Electric Cooperatives of Arkansas reports that over 13,000 customers are without electricity.

Arkansas Tornado Causes Massive Damage
Arkansas Tornado Causes Massive Damage

As of Friday at 6:50 p.m., nearly 6,000 people in Lonoke County were without power. Over 2,400 customers lost power across the county. North Little Rock Mayor Terry Hartwick and North Little Rock Electric General Manager Ryan Wilson estimate that 15,000 residents in the area are currently without power and that it will be several days before power is fully restored.

Sherwood’s police station was vandalized, and Kiehl Avenue was closed up. There, too, houses have been ruined. Tornado reports from the Storm Prediction Center indicated damage to homes in the Pontiac Drive and Osage Drive areas of North Little Rock.

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Another home in Little Rock’s Cammack Village reportedly sustained damage. The North Little Rock Police Department says that preliminary reports indicate heavy structural damage in Amboy, Levy, the Indian Hills Neighborhood, and Burns Park.

They said that emergency crews had arrived at the scene and were trying to examine the damage and search for any injured people. North Little Rock Community Center has opened as an emergency shelter for individuals in need due to today’s storm.

Pets of storm victims can also be accommodated. Location: 2700 Willow St., Community Center. Authorities in Rodney Parham and Jacksonville have been dispatched, according to the Pulaski County Sheriff’s Office. Authorities warned people heading home that they might have to take a different route and discouraged anyone from stopping to assess the damage.

Damage beyond the front gate has forced the National Guard to close Camp Robinson, according to a spokeswoman. His workplace lost electricity. Little Rock emergency services responded to a complaint of debris along Interstate 430. The National Weather Service’s Colby Pope in North Little Rock reported,

“We got a lot of damage across western and northern parts of Little Rock as well as Sherwood and Jacksonville, and some damage south of Cabot.” 

Pope added that there was damage in the Piney and Fountain Lake areas of Garland County.

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