At least 1 killed, multiple injured after tornado rips through Arkansas nursing home
Governor: 2 nursing homes in Monette damaged by tornado-producing storm
Tornado rips through Arkansas nursing home
Catastrophic damage has been reported Friday in a rural northeast Arkansas town after an apparent tornado ripped through the area.
MONETTE, Ark. – Catastrophic damage has been reported Friday in a rural northeast Arkansas town after an apparent tornado ripped through the area.
A tornado emergency was issued for the area of Monette, Arkansas, before images of a severely damaged nursing home surfaced on social media.
Officials said at least 1 person had been killed and five others were injured at Monette Manor, an 86-bed nursing home on the town's north side. Officials said seven other people have been injured in the area.
Volunteers and workers had to move about 60 people out of the nursing home in the middle of the night, according to Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson.
Hutchinson said two nursing homes were impacted by the storm but due to forewarning, no deaths were reported at the second nursing home.
The same storm system is responsible for at least 70 deaths in Kentucky.
Monette, AR, survivor talks about moments tornado hit
A Monette, AR, woman is speaking to FOX Weather's Hunter Davis about what happened as the tornado hit her town.
Monette resident Bertha Ray told FOX Weather's Hunter Davis her uncle was in the nursing home when the storm hit. He's expected to be OK and is in the hospital for observations.
"I ran out to the storm cellar," Ray said. "I was praying and praying."
Ray has no doubt what caused the damages: "Absolutely a tornado."
According to the National Weather Service, a severe storm tracked more than 250 miles through several states, including Arkansas, Missouri, Tennessee and Kentucky, spawning one or more deadly tornadoes causing widespread major structural damage.
Arkansas governor tours tornado damage
Arkansas Gov. Hutchinson surveyed the tornado damage in Monette the morning after severe storms ripped through five states.
The National Weather Service offices in Little Rock and in Memphis, Tennessee were out conducting survey damage Saturday in multiple counties to determine the full impact of the tornado.
FOX Weather is working to gather more details. This developing story will be updated.