The death toll of the tornado that swept through northeast Arkansas on Friday remained at two on Saturday, and local and state officials said they were grateful that the storm system did not take any more lives.
The tornado touched down in Craighead County at 8:33 p.m. Friday, according to the National Weather Service.
One of the 67 residents of Monette Manor, a nursing home in Monette, died Friday night, but owner Rick Sampson said the staff rallied to evacuate the building. The local school district provided buses that brought the nursing home residents to shelter at the gym inside Buffalo Island Central Senior High School.
Initial reports on Friday suggested that about 20 people were trapped in the nursing home. Sampson said this is not quite accurate, but "it took a little while to get to people."
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Gov. Asa Hutchinson visited the destroyed nursing home Saturday morning. In a news conference, he declared a state of emergency for the area and urged residents to report damaged property to their insurance provider in case the region qualifies for federal disaster relief funding.
Craighead County Judge Marvin Day said the county’s emergency management agency is helping people assess the damage.
Northeast of Monette, the tornado destroyed the Dollar General store in Leachville, killing one person.
Leachville residents have nowhere to buy groceries without the Dollar General, said Molly Johnson, whose house down the street from the store was "totaled."
Elected officials at all levels, including U.S. Rep. Rick Crawford, R-Arkansas, toured the damaged region on Saturday.
Information from the Associated Press was used in this report.