Arkansas Baptist Disaster Relief (ABDR) is currently deployed in the northern part of the state.
According to the National Weather Service (NWS), in the predawn hours of Sunday, May 26, multiple tornadoes cut swaths from Benton County eastward through Carroll, Boone, Marion, Baxter, and Fulton counties. Survey teams confirmed at least EF-3 damage at Briarcliff, Decatur, and Olvey.
The NWS reported that homes and businesses were heavily damaged or destroyed, and at least eight fatalities were counted. Power was knocked out to at least 125,000 utility customers.
Arkansas Baptist Disaster Relief volunteers immediately responded.
Director Randy Garrett said two command centers have been set up. One at Elmdale Baptist Church in Springdale and another at First Baptist Church in Mountain Home.
Field teams on the ground in Mountain Home:
- Five chaplain and assessor teams
- Incident Management Personnel
- Corners Chapel Shower/Laundry
- Rocky Bayou Chainsaw unit
- Tri-County Chainsaw Unit
- White River Association Chainsaw Unit
Field teams on the ground in Northwest Arkansas:
- Six chaplain and assessor teams
- Incident Management Personnel
- Washington Madison Chainsaw Unit
- Northwest Association Chainsaw Unit
- Cross Church Chainsaw Unit
More teams are on the way to both locations in the coming weeks.
“This will be a very large deployment. We will be in the game until we get everything. As long as we’ve got volunteers who want to work, we’ll continue recovery operations,” Garrett said.
Please continue to pray for those impacted as they navigate the days ahead and for all Disaster Relief volunteers.
For more information about ABDR, click here.