Spring Storms Hammer Arkansas, Oklahoma and Texas

Damage estimates continue to pile up

Texas, Oklahoma and Arkansas have been hammered numerous times this Spring with violent storms that produced tornadoes, hail, heavy rain and floods, and the damages are mounting.

Preliminary damage from an April 8 Oklahoma hail storm is estimated at $15 million, according to the Southwestern Insurance Information Service, but the insurance trade group cautioned that losses could increase significantly.

Another wave of powerful storms hit north and west Texas, eastern Oklahoma and western Arkansas during the night of April 9 and into the early morning. The storms moved into eastern Arkansas during the day on April 10, adding woes to an area that has been inundated with heavy flooding for weeks and suffered multiple tornadoes a week earlier. About 1,000 customers of Entergy Arkansas lost power and tornado sirens blared around midday April 10 in parts of central Arkansas, including Little Rock, the Associated Press reported.

Thousands in the three states faced power outages, flooding and damage from strong winds. An apparent tornado with winds of up to 70 mph moved through west Texas, tearing shingles from roofs, shattering glass and flipping vehicles. Roughly 100 homes reported damage, mainly in Breckenridge, DeSoto and Hurst. Near Lillian, Texas, the storm critically injured a gas worker, who lost part of his arm, an official said.

Arkansas has battled several waves of severe weather. The Arkansas Insurance Department estimated that a round of storms on Feb. 5 caused $42,910,195 in insured damages. A storm system that hit the state April 3 caused another $6,915,390, according to information posted on the department’s Web site, www.insurance.arkansas.gov. Figures for the April 9-10 storms had yet to be released at press time.

An April 3 tornado that hit North Little Rock and Sherwood, Ark., damaged numerous structures at a cost of millions of dollars. Among the casualties was a tornado siren. Numerous aircraft at the North Little Rock airport also sustained damage.

The twister, one of six, rated EF2 on the Enhanced Fujita Scale of tornado severity, meaning it had winds of 111 to 135 mph. Three of the tornadoes hit Saline County, two struck Pulaski County and one ripped through Lonoke County.

Arkansas Governor Mike Beebe in mid-April added 12 more counties to his state’s lengthy list of disaster declared areas due to damage caused by the severe storms.

Associated Press reports contributed to this story./em>