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Tornado Strikes Jonesboro, Ark., Causing Property Damage Tornado Strikes Jonesboro, Ark., Causing Injuries, Official Says
(32 minutes later)
A tornado struck Jonesboro, Ark., on Saturday evening, causing property damage, according to Gov. Asa Hutchinson. A tornado struck Jonesboro, Ark., on Saturday evening, injuring some people and damaging a mall, local business and an airport, according to the authorities.
It was not immediately clear if there were any injuries or deaths though local news media reports showed buildings had been destroyed. Sally Smith, a spokeswoman for the Jonesboro Police Department, said she was not sure how many people had been injured or how seriously.
Jeff Presley, Jonesboro’s E-911 director, told KAIT, a local television station, that the Mall at Turtle Creek had been damaged, and that the authorities were conducting searches in the area. She said the tornado had cut a swath from the southern part of the city to the northern part, damaging the Mall at Turtle Creek, the Jonesboro Municipal Airport, an Anheuser-Busch granary and local shops.
Multiple cars on a freight train had also been knocked over, Ms. Smith said.
“Right now, we have a great amount of damage,” she said, adding that the authorities from across northeast Arkansas had been summoned to assess the damage.
Jeff Presley, Jonesboro’s E-911 director, told KAIT, a local television station that the authorities were conducting searches in the area near the Mall at Turtle Creek.
Several vehicles were overturned, KAIT reported, and officials had set up a command center in the area.Several vehicles were overturned, KAIT reported, and officials had set up a command center in the area.
“I am paying close attention to the report of a tornado hit in Jonesboro,” Mr. Hutchinson wrote on Twitter. “I know there is property damage. Just praying all is safe.” “I am paying close attention to the report of a tornado hit in Jonesboro,” Gov. Asa Hutchinson wrote on Twitter. “I know there is property damage. Just praying all is safe.”
Rick Smith, a warning coordination meteorologist at the National Weather Service in Norman, Okla., said his son had been in the tornado.Rick Smith, a warning coordination meteorologist at the National Weather Service in Norman, Okla., said his son had been in the tornado.
“He’s okay but there’s a lot of damage,” Mr. Smith wrote on Twitter. “So scary.”“He’s okay but there’s a lot of damage,” Mr. Smith wrote on Twitter. “So scary.”
The tornado struck Jonesboro at about 5 p.m. before moving northeast, according to the National Weather Service office in Little Rock.The tornado struck Jonesboro at about 5 p.m. before moving northeast, according to the National Weather Service office in Little Rock.