At least two damaging tornadoes swept through central Arkansas Friday afternoon, causing downed trees, power outages and injuries.
The National Weather Service said a tornado moved across the state Friday, with a warning in effect for parts of southern and eastern Arkansas for much of Friday afternoon.
Ariel Gutierrez was showering at her home in west Little Rock when the tornado first touched down around 2:30 Friday afternoon.
“I was shampooing my hair, then the lights just went out. I just got out, I heard a loud bang. I was like, ‘What do I do?’ I didn’t know where to run,” she said, adding that she and her family had secured a hotel room for the night.
Hospitals in the central Arkansas area are reporting casualties, with ambulance service MEMS estimating about 600 injuries. Cara Wade, a spokesperson for Baptist Health Medical Center's campuses in Little Rock and North Little Rock, reported a combined 21 patients in both hospitals with five in critical condition as of early Friday evening. She said she believes they have enough staff and beds for the extra patients.
University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences spokesperson Leslie Taylor said the hospital is experiencing a level-one mass casualty event, meaning they expect 15 to 20 extra patients. She said UAMS has plenty of staff and beds to accommodate the patients, and urged members of the public to give blood.
A spokesperson for CHI St. Vincent said their hospitals in Little Rock and North Little Rock were seeing more patients from the storm early Friday evening, but did not have a number readily available.
Little Rock Mayor Frank Scott Jr. ordered a shelter for the displaced at Hall STEM Magnet High School on H Street, saying the city is working in conjunction with local nonprofit The Van to assist residents. The group's Caleb Alexander said the city will be offering hotel vouchers at the shelter beginning at 9 Saturday morning. In the meantime, the group plans to house and feed people through Friday night.
“We have had a great outpouring from the community,” he said, explaining that they have more volunteers than displaced people. Alexander urged residents to donate clothing, towels, toiletries, bags and breakfast food. Donations can be dropped off at the school's gymnasium.
The Arkansas branch of the American Red Cross also set up a shelter at Calvary Baptist Church at 5700 Cantrell Road. A spokesperson said they will be open for as long as the community needs them to be.
Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders declared a state of emergency, saying in a Tweet “We will spare no resources to assist with response and recovery efforts for Arkansans impacted." The governor says she has also activated the Arkansas National Guard to assist in search and rescue efforts.
Michael Robbins was working at the Briarwood Nursing and Rehabilitation Center when the tornado struck. He helped evacuate his residents, then several people at an apartment complex on Napa Valley Road in west Little Rock.
“It’s bad, it’s bad. It’s leveled. Yeah. I mean you couldn’t even see a lot of stuff, all the power lines, trees are down," Robbins said. "I think we got like seven [people] out of the rubble, and I think they're still searching for people over there.
"It’s pretty bad. Hopefully everybody’s alright.”
Robbins' home nearby had several planks of wood strewn across its lawn, which he said was debris picked up by the tornado from the apartment complex.
Paige Sellen was on the phone with her parents sheltering in her bathroom when the tornado struck, though her house was thankfully spared from damage.
"You could hear everything being tossed and thrown. It sounded like it was in the living room honestly," she said, adding the ordeal lasted about 30 seconds in total.
Around 5:30 Friday evening, Mayor Frank Scott Jr. said several major roads were closed in the city including Cantrell from I-430 to Reservoir Road and Rodney Parham from Markham.
