Arkansas governor seeks federal disaster decree for March 14-15 tornadoes, storms

Article by Sonny Albarado, Arkansas Advocate

Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders on Friday asked the president to declare a major disaster for nine Arkansas counties.

The request follows severe storms and tornadoes that hit a large swath of north-central and northeast Arkansas overnight March 14 and 15 as well as wind-driven wildfires in the days afterward that affected storm-related recovery services.

The estimated cost of public assistance to deal with storm damage exceeds $11.6 million and debris costs are estimated at $3.7 million, Sanders said in her 12-page request to President Donald Trump. Damage estimates from rural electric cooperatives that serve the affected areas likely will raise the public assistance costs, she said.

“The sheer magnitude of this event created disastrous amounts of debris, extensive destruction to homes and businesses, and resulted in the death of three citizens, and caused injuries” to at least 32 others, Sanders said in the letter, which was routed through the Dallas office of the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

The three deaths all occurred in Independence County. The county coroner identified them as Ellen Light, 67, and her sister Norma Mobley, 70, who lived together, and Evelyn Ginn, 81.

Sanders issued her own state emergency declaration on March 15 and released $250,000 in state disaster funds to help with recovery. Her letter to the president details the extent of damage in several communities as well as the steps state agencies and volunteer groups have taken to assist storm survivors.

She said the storms were of “such severity and magnitude that effective response is beyond” the ability of state and local governments to adequately deal with and that supplemental federal assistance is needed.

She requested individual assistance through the Federal Emergency Management Agency and Small Business Administration disaster loans for Greene, Hot Spring, Independence, Izard, Jackson, Lawrence, Randolph, Sharp, and Stone counties.

Officials determined the tornadoes and damaging winds of March 14-15 destroyed 156 structures, caused major damage to 93 others and minor damage to 88, and affected 119 more buildings, according to the letter.

Cave City’s only grocery store sustained severe damage and likely won’t reopen for three months, forcing residents to make 30-mile round trips to Batesville for food and necessities, Sanders wrote. The town’s only funeral home, health clinic, pharmacy and auto parts store were badly damaged or completely destroyed, she added.

The largest employer in Randolph County, PECO Foods near Pocahontas, lost its cooling system among other damages, putting approximately 2,000 employees out of work for an indefinite period, the governor’s letter states.

The average unemployment rate for the nine counties is 3.95%, while Randolph County’s rate before the storms was 3.5%, according to the letter.

The area provides few short-term housing resources for affected residents, many of whom are classified as low-income, she said. Based on preliminary assessments by FEMA, an estimated 249 households are in need of housing assistance, the letter states.

“These counties are in dire need of assistance to help individuals regain suitable living conditions that cannot be obtained at their current financial status,” Sanders wrote.

“Three of the hardest hit communities, the cities of Cave City, Diaz, and Fifty-Six, are all an hour to two hours away from Jonesboro, the nearest city with the hotel and rental stock that can accommodate the survivors,” Sanders said.

Temporary FEMA-provided housing would aid recovery efforts by keeping people close to their homes and work, she said. The American Red Cross opened a shelter in Cave City, one of the hardest hit communities.

Sanders noted that many of the tornado-damaged communities are still enduring the effects of previous weather events that prompted state-declared disasters. On Jan. 22, 2024, storms and flooding affected Clark, Independence, Izard, Jackson, Nevada and Sharp counties, and Nevada County experienced severe storms and flooding again on Oct. 11, 2024, her letter said.

In addition, Arkansas has dealt with four federally declared disasters since 2023.

The Arkansas Advocate is a nonprofit, nonpartisan news organization dedicated to tough, fair daily reporting and investigative journalism that holds public officials accountable and focuses on the relationship between the lives of Arkansans and public policy.