Damage in Stuttgart, no serious injuries in storm

Suspected E-F3 tornado hit Saturday

By The Associated Press

The National Weather Service says no one was seriously injured when an E-F3 tornado swept through Stuttgart.

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The Weather Service says nine people were injured in the twister that went through Lonoke and Arkansas counties. One person remained hospitalized Sunday night.

Forecasters say the tornado's path was 21 miles long, beginning near Humnoke in Lonoke County and ending in Stuttgart.

About 200 homes and 50 businesses were damaged, along with a nursing home and several school buildings, the Weather Service said.

Hail was reported throughout much of the state as part of the severe weather, which killed more than 20 people in Missouri, Oklahoma and Georgia.

Meteorologist Joe Goudsward says more severe weather is on its way to the state. Tuesday's forecast calls for severe thunderstorms with possible tornadoes.

Arkansas County Judge Sonny Cox said a nursing home was damaged in the storm, and patients were evacuated to hospitals in Dumas, Marianna, Forrest City and other areas.

Cox said he's enacted a curfew from 10 p.m. to 6 a.m., and that it will be enforced. He said there's also been some reports of looting in the area.

"We're taking care of those. We've got a place down in the jail for those people when we catch them," Cox told Little Rock television station KTHV.

Cox said Arkansas County has received help from neighboring areas, including Dumas, which was hit by a tornado in February 2007.

"It is just amazing. We responded to Dumas and their tornado and they had no one killed either," he said. "I think we're just thankful to God Almighty that we didn't have any injuries either, other than the three minor ones."

Gov. Mike Beebe planned to tour storm damage in Stuttgart on Monday.

"In this seemingly endless season of severe weather, another Arkansas community now faces the challenge of rebuilding, and others are again picking up after damaging storms," Beebe said in a statement Sunday. "It appears everyone in Arkansas survived this latest outbreak, and for that we are grateful. Our thoughts and prayers go out to our sister states that saw a much steeper toll of human life from Saturday's tornadoes."

At its peak, about 14,000 Entergy Arkansas customers lost electricity, spokesman David Lewis said. As of Sunday afternoon, 7,000 remained without electricity, the majority of them in the Stuttgart area.

About 2,600 Entergy customers in the El Dorado and Junction City area were without power, along with about 600 customers in the Helena-West Helena area, he said.

Electricity was expected to be restored to customers outside the Stuttgart area by Sunday night, he said.

"Stuttgart is a whole another matter," he said. "We've got 100 poles down in the Stuttgart area and it takes a huge amount of work to rebuild the system. We're talking several days, as late as Friday, before we get all that done."

For more information see Monday's Arkansas Democrat-Gazette.