BAXTER COUNTY, Ark. (KY3) – One person died and several people were injured after storms ravaged Baxter County early Sunday morning, according to Sheriff John Montgomery.
Homes, utility poles and uprooted trees are what you will find in the communities of Briarcliff and Salesville. Both cities were among the hardest hit by Sunday’s storms.
Briarcliff resident Jake Magee said he was in his tornado shelter when the storm raged through his home on Scenic Drive.
“I thought I should probably go into my bathroom and hang out in the tub. I came out and saw the bathtub was kind of crushed, the house was kind of crushed,” Magee said.
Magee said he was lucky to escape without injury.
Just down the road from Magee, Clifford Castell and his wife were also at home.
“I don’t know how we did it,” Castell said.
Both were awake moments before the storm hit and knew they probably wouldn’t have time to get to the storm shelter in their front yard.
“We went into the living room and decided it wasn’t good. We hit the ground and couldn’t get into the storm cellar. It was a shame,” Castell said.
He and his wife are grateful to be alive after parts of his privacy fence were blown into his home by high winds.
The city’s RV park was also affected by the storm. Resident Beau Bradon said his RV didn’t sustain much damage.
“I took the awning off my campervan. Other than that, it didn’t really do much damage to mine,” Bradon said.
But his neighbors were not so lucky.
“It’s all around us, you can see my neighbor, I had to take it out this morning,” Bradon said.
Residents in the community say the damage is heartbreaking, but they will do what is necessary to help their neighbors.
“It hurts my heart. It’s such a nice town,” Magee said.
Power outages continue in parts of the county. Mel Coleman, CEO of the North Arkansas Electric Cooperative, said the storms damaged “critical infrastructure.” He added that it could take two to four days before power is restored.
Several tornadoes were reported along the Missouri and Arkansas state lines.
Deaths were also reported in Boone and Benton counties, Arkansas.
The KY3 First Alert Weather team is monitoring the potential for more storms on Sunday. Download the KY3 First Alert Weather app for Apple and Droid products. Use the QR codes below.
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