I live at the end of town here in Mountain Home ,Arkansas right off Hwy 62. Tuesday night we had a close call to the deadly Tornado that wiped out the small town of Gassville. My husband Evan was raised all of his childhood years in that town. About an hour after it hit all emt's,police and fire personel, along with just a handful of off duty and civilian volunteers formed a search and rescue party. My husband and I were among those few who were able to help. Luckily I was let through the road blocks with ems clearance. I haven't been a practicing EMT in over a year now but was able to lend a hand when ever needed. I have been certified and trained in disaster management and rescue at A&M but reality is something different. I wasn't prepared for what I saw Tuesday night. The pictures all over the news and internet are different than the experience of being in the ruble in the dark with only a few flashlights. I was scared! We went into the homes looking for anyone still in their homes and forced them to evacuate the city. Seeing children's toys scattered about really bothered me. Most of the injured had already been evacuated and received medical attention before the search party began. My husband Evan was one of 8 drivers who transported residents to the local shelter in Cotter. He went to school there for many years now returning with storm victims must have been hard. He doesn't show it but deep down I know it really got to him too.
here is an article I wrote about that night:
Severe natural gas leakage was reported throughout Gassville last night. Four search and rescue teams consisting of emt's firefighters, police, and a hand full of local civilian volunteers, were sent out last night split into 4 sectors looking for anyone who might have been injured or trapped. Over 75% of the town was destroyed or damaged. Homes and businesses were leveled along hwy 62 going through Gassville. The mayor forced a city wide evacuation of anyone remaining in their homes especially those who's homes were damaged. Many residents didn't want to leave their homes in fear. Most of the city's population were elderly on fixed income. There will be no power for several days nor Internet and cell phones are also down. There were several injured and at least 1 known fatality of an elderly woman. There were many wild animals that lay dead along the roads and highways throughout the city. Power lines covered many residential neighborhoods making it hard for rescue workers to get into many of the homes. Trees were uprooted and even pushed by the tornado through a few homes. Many of them were laying in yards or on houses in the area. Sunny South trailer park was demolished with trailers flipped upside down and rolled. Many men had to travel on foot through some of these areas to assess damage. Metal electrical poles were also uprooted and lay on the roads and the sides of them. Some of the older residents in lesser damaged neighborhoods were also forced to evacuate their homes due to serious medical problems for lack of power. Many of those residents were on oxygen machines. One man, a local resident, working at the Exxon station escaped through the aftermath and walked home to see the damage and was later found and evacuated. There were numerous residents of Gassville who reported to me having no insurance at all where others had already called agents to come access the damaged to their homes. Local residents also reported to me and numerous others that there were warning sirens but just enough time to seek shelter. A local rescue shelter was set up at the Cotter school for survivers and their families. Thanks to the Salvation Army of Mountain Home food and beverages were provided to exhausted rescue workers and survivers of the storm.
you can view many photos of the storm here:http://s199.photobucket.com/albums/aa97/jevetteduncan/gassville%20arkansas%20tornado/
