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03.05.2008 20:37 - category: World News : CBS News
- Source: CBSTornadoes and severe storms ripped through four states Friday, leaving homes and businesses damaged and killing eight people in Arkansas, including a teenager while she slept in her bed and a father and his son.
Six of the deaths Friday were in two counties, Conway and Van Buren, hit hard by the February tornado. That storm, with a 122-mile-long track, had winds estimated between 166 and 200 mph. The tornado Friday had winds from 135 to 165 mph.
In central Arkansas, a man, a woman and a preschool-age child died when the storm hit their house just south of Bee Branch, in Van Buren County.
"There wasn't anything left," Bradley said. "It was demolished."
Another child who lived at the home had already left for school, escaping injury.
Conway County Sheriff Mike Smith said a man and his son died when storms hit near Birdtown. A second son died later at a hospital.
Near the Arkansas-Oklahoma line, a 15-year-old girl died early Friday when a storm toppled a tree into her family's mobile home in Siloam Springs. She and her 10-year-old brother were sleeping in bunk beds; the boy survived with minor injuries and was pulled from the home's wreckage by neighbors.
"We didn't even know the sister was in there dead," Chad Tilghman said. "She was dead on top of him with the tree on top of her. It was just the mattress in between them, and he was screaming, `Get it off of me! Get it off of me!'"
The eighth death was reported in Pulaski County, south of Little Rock.
Brandon Baker, Conway County's emergency services director, said six people with "pretty severe" injuries were taken to a hospital. Ten to 20 homes were destroyed in a rural area.
"At this point, we're all at the mercy of Mother Nature," Smith said.
In Oklahoma, storms produced tornadoes, strong winds and large hail, causing structural damage and power outages but no serious injuries, authorities said.
About 10,000 electric customers in the state lost power at one point, but most were back on by Friday afternoon.
At least three tornadoes raked across central and northern Oklahoma, including one in Osage County near Tulsa that was an estimated 100 yards wide.
The enormous weather-maker produced 24 tornadoes in 24 hours, reports CBS News correspondent Hari Sreenivasan.
It was the latest atmospheric assault in what weather watchers say has already been a very active early storm season. Through April there have been 708 tornadoes, compared to 517 during the same period last year, Sreenivasan reports. That's nearly 200 more twisters already this year.
Earlier, storms late Thursday and early Friday seriously damaged homes and businesses in the Kansas City, Mo., area, and tornadoes were also reported in Texas, although there were no immediate reports of severe damage.
A cold front set off the severe weather. The National Weather Service issued tornado warnings for several counties in central and north Arkansas, while trained spotters reported a tornado down near Damascus and another near Carlisle. There also were unconfirmed reports of tornadoes at Center Ridge and near Greers Ferry, and law enforcement agencies reported tornado sightings in East End, Hensley, Keo, and Woodson.
It sounded like all hell was breaking loose.
Randy Payne, 38 In Damascus, where property damage was extensive, Randy Payne, 38, hid in a hallway at his aunt and uncle's house."It sounded like all hell was breaking loose," Payne said.
Payne and his family walked outside of their single story ranch home, finding trees down in their front yard, shingles blown off their house and standing water on some of the home's floors.
Just north of Damascus on U.S. Highway 65, the storm knocked over trees as it moved northeast, directly hitting the Southside Baptist Church. The new church, which neighbors said had not yet held services, lost its roof. Members of a work crew ran inside after a neighbor warned them of the coming storm. They said it was total silence as the storm approached.
"Everybody was afraid," said Jesus Estrada, 22, a worker.
After the storm ripped through, he and others went down the street and helped firefighters help others out of their homes.
At Siloam Springs, a 10-year-old boy was rescued from the same bedroom where the teenager was killed. Police said he was taken to Siloam Springs Memorial Hospital, where he was in good condition, and was expected to be released.
Conway County Sheriff Mike Smith said the father and his son died when storms hit near Birdtown. To the north, storms hitting south of Bee Branch in Van Buren County killed three people.
Brandon Baker, Conway County emergency services director, said six people with "pretty severe" injuries were taken to a local hospital. Ten to 20 homes were destroyed in a rural area, and more sustained damage.
State emergency officials said more than 100 homes were damaged in Cleburne County. Officials also received reports of property damage in Benton, Franklin, Howard, Newton, Pope and Van Buren counties.
The strong winds, rains and hail blew out electric service to nearly 6,000 homes and businesses. Entergy spokesman James Thompson said that as of midmorning, 2,067 customers at Harrison in north Arkansas were without power, 2,602 lost service in Russellville and 1,170 in Dardanelle, both in west-central Arkansas.
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