Eight confirmed deaths were caused by violent storms that tore through northern Arkansas overnight on Sunday morning.
During a news conference, Benton County Judge Barry Moehring declared a disaster for the county and confirmed one death in Benton County; a second death was reported in Baxter County.
According to Daniel Bolen of the Boone County Office of Emergency Management, a 26-year-old woman who was discovered dead outside of a demolished home in the town of Olvey has been officially identified as the third death.
The Marion County Sheriff’s Office verified two more deaths on Sunday afternoon that were thought to be storm-related.
Moehring stated that search and rescue efforts are being carried out all morning by fire and emergency medical services personnel.
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Early in the morning, Debbie Griffin of Downtown Bentonville issued a message urging locals to avoid the roads due to numerous powerlines that were reported to be down.
Given that the surrounding areas are reportedly devastated by the storms, the Metroplex event complex in Rogers has also been transformed into a refuge.
In addition, a landslide at West Chelsea on Highway 340 has caused a section beneath the road to be washed out, according to the Arkansas Department of Transportation.
Over 88,000 individuals in Arkansas were without power as of 1:40 p.m., according to PowerOutage.US. The majority of these outages were in the northernmost counties, which include Benton, Carroll, Madison, Boone, Marion, Baxter, Fulton, Sharp, and Randolph counties.
With more than 40,000 people without power, Carroll Electric also implemented its Emergency Restoration Plan, with neighboring electric utilities helping to restore electricity.
A press release states that Sheep Dog Impact Assistance is providing support to the recovery efforts by mobilizing a team to establish a base of operations at the Center for Nonprofits in Rogers.
Following the storms, other churches in northwest Arkansas also canceled services.
