Night of Tornadoes Kills Whole Families

I was there.  I live in Cotter, AR.  On Tuesday afternoon, my wife and I had a late lunch at Letty's Mexican Restaurant in Gassville, AR, about three miles away.  After returning home, we were sitting on our back patio when we heard the tornado approaching from the south.  The tornado sirens sounded moments later.  The tornado passed just south of our house, located on the White River on the south edge of Cotter.  The storm passed to the northeast toward Gassville.  Power went ouot at 4:06 p.m.  Unable to contact a relative in Gassville, we followed the first emergency vehicle from Cotter into Gassville.  We arrived at the Sunny South Mobile Home Park but could not go further due to debris and downed power lines.  We returned to Cotter and went to Gassville by Hwy 62.   Our relative was fine.  We learned Letty's Mexican Restaurant, owned by friends, was gone.  I went there, found our friends, and learned none were hurt or missing.  Chaos showed its ugly face everywhere.  The business district of Gassville was a shambles.  an emergency command post was established in Gassville, and mergency shelter and medical treatment facility were established at the Cotter High School.  Dontations of every type poured in from many surrounding communites.  Emergency and medical personnel arrived for several hours.  A quick search for injured was performed, then a house to house search was conducted in the damaged areas.  All traffic through Gassville was rerouted for about six hours and only emergency personnel were allowed to enter Gassville.

Wednesday morning, I joined the cleanup crew at Letty's Restaurant.  Throughout the day, I was able to go to various parts of Gassville as evidenced by the photos.  The hardest hit area was the south end of the mobile home park where two residents were killed.  I spoke to one yound man whose grandparents lived there.  Thier home was leveled to the frame.  One lady was killed next door in a home that was also flattened to the frame.  Across the street two or three more were in similar condition and one was upside down.  That little area looked like a city dump.  Absolute devastation.

From the mobile home park, the tornado traversed to the northeast through a residential area.  Damage in the storm track was from light, to roofs missing, to total destruction.  Huge trees were laid over everywhere.  At Hwy 62, the tornado appears to have made a full touchdown at Letty's Restaurant, then followed Hwy 62 eastbound along the business district for more than a quarter mile.

On Wednesday, the Salvation Army, Red Cross, and numerous church and civic organizations arrived and have been handling distribution of food and supplies to residents, cleanup crews, and utility company personnel.  Numerous individuals purchased supplies, brought them to Gassville, and handed them out to crews along Hwy 62.  A dusk to dawn curfew is in effect for safety reasons and to prevent looting.

As of Thursday evening, power has been restored to much of Gassville.

Letty's Restaurant, a fixture in Gassville for many years, is gone.  The restaurant supported several families and was uninsured.  Donations to help these families and to rebuild would be gratefully appreciated.  Anyone wishing to contribute may contact me at bob.doshier@gmail.com.