Above image: Workers and volunteers help clean up damage from last night’s storms at the Humane Society of Independence County on Thursday morning. A GoFundMe page has been established to help raise funds to rebuild. Click here to access the page and donate.
Thursday afternoon, authorities and workers were still at many locations throughout Independence County affected by the overnight storms.
The damage in Independence County was caused not only by the powerful wind shear, but also by microbursts of rainfall, with some reports of five to six inches. Independence County Office of Emergency Management Coordinator Bill Johnson told White River Now’s Gary Bridgman that powerlines downed by trees were reported in many areas, noting west Batesville was particularly hit hard with that issue. Johnson said there was also a report of vehicles floating on Neeley Street and other nearby streets at one point. (Scroll down for an image of a vehicle on Neeley Street that was submitted by a White River Now reader.)
The downed trees and lines cut power to thousands of locations. As of 1 p.m., the online site PowerOutage reported over 4,600 Independence County outages. (Earlier this morning, that number was over 7,300.) Some Entergy Arkansas estimates show a restoration time of 10 p.m.
Many businesses and organizations have closed or are delaying opening. University of Arkansas Community College at Batesville (UACCB) Chancellor Brian Shonk reports numerous downed trees, but the UACCB campus is open. However, drivers are asked to be cautious on campus due to the trees and limbs. Scroll down for images from the UACCB campus on Thursday morning.
Batesville Mayor Rick Elumbaugh also passed along images of severe damage to the restroom and concession building at the city’s soccer complex on East Main. (See below.)
Independence County Judge Kevin Jeffery noted Highway 106 towards Bethesda had numerous limbs down and flooding earlier this morning. Motorists were advised not to travel in this area.
Jeffery also told White River Now he had not heard reports of injuries or deaths from the storm.
And major storm damage was reported at the Humane Society of Independence County location, where a tree fell onto the building’s roof. Workers and volunteers were on the scene this morning, cleaning up the damage and helping provide animal care. A GoFundMe page has been established to help raise funds to rebuild. Click here to access the page and donate. And scroll down to watch a video posted on the Humane Society of Independence County’s Facebook page.
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