Hot Springs tornado recovery efforts continue 1 week later
HOT SPRINGS, Ark. – It’s been a week since an EF-2 tornado passed over Lake Hamilton leaving destruction in its wake. The power grid is restored, and many trees on people’s homes and property have been moved and replaced with tarps.
The immediate sounds of progress are beginning to slow in Hot Springs and replacing the sound of constant chainsaws is a silent wait.
“It’s cleared out a lot. It was a major disaster,” Peggy Burton said.
Recovery continues in Hot Springs neighborhoods after EF-2 tornado
Burton is one of the few still living on South Lakeland Point. Her home was mostly spared, but she does not know when many of her neighbors will return.
“You got to wait on insurance and deal with all that and rebuild your house. Some of them it’s probably going to be a year,” Burton stated.
Her community is closer to the end of the 12-mile path of an EF-2 tornado with winds over 100 miles per hour. According to the Garland County Department of Emergency Management, 243 homes and six businesses were damaged. Some were destroyed.
Chuck Fulton lives off Jerry Lane. His home had three trees on it a week ago while he was in his bedroom.
“It was a mess, but God looked out for us,” Fulton said.
National Weather Service says Hot Springs hit by EF-2 tornado overnight
When a window busted inches from him it cut his arm. He said it is healing just like the community around him. As a roofer with Willis & Son Roofing, he’s been able to get a head start on repairs, but he says several around him are not as fortunate.
“People have their vehicles lost, their houses lost. They are staying in motels or with families or friends, and they don’t know where to turn. So the community still needs help,” Fulton said. “We hope that the community leaders will come together and help some of the people who are displaced in all this.”
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