Arkansas Baptist Disaster Relief (ABDR) volunteers have deployed to northeast Arkansas following the severe storms that swept through the area Friday evening into Saturday.
The storms brought an outbreak of tornadoes that left destruction in their wake. According to the Weather Channel, two of the twisters in Arkansas received a preliminary EF4 rating. One of those tornadoes was confirmed in Izard County. The other, which had the most severe damage near Diaz in Jackson County, was reported to be a high-end EF4 tornado with maximum winds of 190 mph.
“This is probably one of the worst, if not the worst, outbreak of tornadoes that Arkansas has had or experienced in several years,” ABDR Director Randy Garrett said.
ABDR is setting up at Eastside Baptist Church in Cave City. Garrett said they will be going out into all the communities that were affected. The Current Gaines Baptist Association Feeding Unit, Mt. Zion Baptist Association Shower Unit, seven three-person assessor and chaplain teams, and several chainsaw recovery teams are currently on scene, providing help and hope to those impacted by the tornadoes.
For more information on ABDR, visit abscdisasterrelief.org.