The National Weather Service of Little Rock has confirmed a “high-end EF-2” tornado touched down in Kirby last Thursday night.
Pike County Emergency Management director Lee Vincent said that the tornado occurred between 10:50 and 11 p.m.
A survey done by Pike County currently lists 23 homes that received damage, but Vincent stated that some were secondary homes and final reporting may not have yet occurred for complete damage assessments.
Amazingly, there were no major injuries or fatalities, with Vincent stating that he knows of one resident who ended up with eight staples to close a head wound.
There was also significant damage to farm implements and chicken houses.
After monitoring the radar at the Pike County Sheriff’s Office, Vincent said the first action was to take care of medical issues. After the highway department and local fire departments cleared the roads, it allowed for first responders to get into the area on Ebenezer Road to assess the medical needs.
South Central Electric was on scene to take care of live wires in the road and then to restore power to the majority those who were still capable of using it as of Monday afternoon. Internet providers are still in the process of rectifying all the issues as well.
“A night event is harder, so many things have to occur to make it safe for all. Then you have to make arrangements for those impacted with food, water and shelter for the night and then reassess in the morning,” said Vincent.
Pike County has submitted their preliminary report to the state with damages and is now awaiting to see if a federal disaster declaration is made.
If you have damages from the storm that have yet to be recorded, call the Pike County Judge’s office at (870) 285-2414.
Vincent also reminded those traveling in the area to “be safe” by being mindful of workers who are still cleaning up debris.
He added that it was by good grace that no one was killed based on the amount of damage done.
While those impacted were offered the possibility of aid from the Red Cross, Vincent said that none accepted and were able to reply on help from friends, family and the community at large.
He also complimented the community for coming together in the wake of the storm and the ensuing cleanup.
“I’d like to give a huge thank you to all the volunteers and all the items that companies donated to aid in the effort,” said Vincent.
“Every person I talked to was so unbelievably proud of the community’s effort.”
Along with Kirby, Vincent said that the same storm system also produced tornados in the Little Rock, Hot Springs and Texarkana areas.
