A tornado hit the Hot Springs Village area last week Thursday leaving roughly 1,500 downed trees and damaged utilities. 

“We’ve got power lines down throughout the entire area,” said Kelly Hale, general manager for the Hot Springs Village Property Owners Association, in an interview with the Arkansas Democrat Gazette. The estimated number of sheared off utility poles total 250 to 300. 

“Right now, we’re in a cleanup mode and restoring-power mode, so we’re trying to continue to clear streets out and allow the power companies to get in, do what they need to do,” he said. “And trying to get into residents’ areas, we have some residential areas that weren’t on the main drags that are hit, but there’s limited houses in there, so we’re in the process of just trying to get them in and out of those areas.”

A preliminary report issued by the National Weather Service on Friday, said the tornado hit winds of around 115 mph. The damage to trees and utility poles left many without power, but restoration crews were in the area immediately working hard to turn the lights back on. 

Along with power loss, areas of the city saw some flooding as a result of heavy rainfall with the storm. First responders used boats to evacuate 29 people from two complexes located on Maumelle's north side. 

Crews continue to clean up debris, work on power restoration and handle flood waters. 

Information gathered from the Arkansas Democrat Gazette. Read the original article here - arkansasonline.com/news/2024/mar/15/one-person-injured-downed-power-lines-following/