NORTHERN ARKANSAS – Severe overnight storms ravaged northern Arkansas Sunday morning, leaving three confirmed dead.
Benton County Judge Barry Moehring confirmed a death in Benton County during a news conference while also declaring a disaster for the county, with a second death reported in Baxter County.
Daniel Bolen of the Boone County Office of Emergency Management said a third death had been confirmed, that of a 26-year-old woman found dead just outside a destroyed home in the town of Olvey.
Moehring said firefighters and emergency medical services were conducting search and rescue operations throughout the morning.
Debbie Griffin of Downtown Bentonville issued an early morning statement asking residents to stay off the roads with reports of several downed power lines.
The Metroplex event center in Rogers was also converted into a shelter, with surrounding communities apparently ravaged by the storms.
Our content partner KNWA reports that Rogers police are dealing with gas leaks, road closures and some people trapped in some homes and businesses. They also say there is a lot of major damage concentrated in Rogers, Bentonville and Decatur.
The Arkansas Department of Transportation also reported that Highway 340 in West Chelsea was closed due to a landslide washing out an area under the roadway.
From 11:15 a.m. depending on PowerOutage.US There are 103,000 people without power in Arkansas, with the majority of outages affecting the northernmost counties, including Benton, Carroll, Madison, Boone, Marion, Baxter, Fulton, Sharp and Randolph counties.
Carroll Electric also enacted its emergency restoration plan with more than 40,000 people without power, with neighboring electric utilities helping to restore power.
Many churches in Northwest Arkansas also canceled services in the wake of the storms.
This is a developing story, please check back for updates.
News Source : www.kark.com
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