Arkansas Governor Beebe Declares Seven Counties Disaster Areas Due To Tornado And Thunderstorm Damage

May 2, 2008 -- LITTLE ROCK – Arkansas Governor Mike Beebe has declared Benton, Cleburne, Conway, Grant, Pulaski, Saline and Van Buren Counties state disaster areas due to the damage caused by powerful tornadoes and violent thunderstorms on Friday, May 2. More counties will be added to this list as preliminary damage assessments are done in other counties.

Lightning strikes in Arkansas: Photo by Melissa Jones (CC)

The Arkansas Department of Emergency Management will work in the coming days to establish locations for Disaster Recovery Centers in the declared counties. Early this evening, Governor Beebe spoke with President George W. Bush about the storms and ADEM Director David Maxwell has spoken with Federal Emergency Management Agency Director David Paulison. Both conversations indicated there would be continued swift federal response to Arkansas's latest round of natural disasters.

Governor Beebe previously declared 59 Arkansas counties disaster areas following storms and floods in the late winter and early spring. While federal assistance continues for those disasters, most of those state declarations have expired. The seven counties declared tonight begin a new set of declarations.

Governor Beebe will begin touring damaged areas Saturday afternoon.

Source: Arkansas Governor

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