Van Buren resident talks storm damage, recovery efforts
VAN BUREN, Ark. (KNWA/KFTA) — Van Buren is one of the multiple River Valley communities cleaning up damage following the storms that swept through the area late last night and early this morning.
Van Buren had high winds and heavy rain that resulted in downed trees, power lines and property damage, among other things. Gene Bock, a Van Buren resident, said he was woken up by the storm around 2:45 a.m.
“We saw what was going on, so we just gathered the kids up, took them in there where we were at and waited it out,” Bock said. “It calmed down a little bit. It was about 3:30 (a.m.), 4 o’clock by the time everything calmed down. Just had a little light rain then.”
But, what greeted him when he woke up in the morning and surveyed the damage to his property was all but an indication of calm weather.
An oak tree in his backyard was uprooted, nearly landing on his garage. Instead, it landed on the car that Bock bought to fix up for his wife to drive. Before the tree totaled the vehicle, he said he’s been fixing it up for about two months, investing approximately $1,000 in repairs.
“It’s junk,” Bock said. “I’ll take it to the scrap yard. There’s nothing left of it.”
Now, Bock is beginning the cleanup process, estimating it could take at least a week to remove all the debris. He said coworkers and family members volunteer to help him clean up his backyard.
“We’ll all get up here, get some chainsaws and go to work,” Bock said. “Good friends are hard to find, and I’m thankful for them.”
Bock believes the Van Buren community will “band together” to help each other clean up the storm damage.
He said he’s thankful the situation wasn’t worse.
“I was thankful to God,” Bock said. “He looks after me.”
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