A reported tornado ripped through an Arkansas nursing home Friday night, killing one person and injuring several others.
Craighead County Judge Marvin Day told The Associated Press that a tornado struck the Monette Manor nursing home in Arkansas at about 8:15 p.m., killing one person and trapping 20 people inside as the building collapsed. Officials had earlier reported at least two fatalities.
Within two hours, the building had been cleared and everyone initially believed to have been inside had been accounted for, Day said.
“It looks like it’s pretty much destroyed,” Day said of the building. “… It happens quick but apparently there was a little bit of time with tornado sirens going off.” Some residents were found in the basement “and were prepared for this,” he said.
Five people had serious injuries, and a few others had minor ones, he said. The nursing home has 86 beds.
Day said another nursing home about 20 miles away in Truman was badly damaged but no injuries were reported. The residents were being evacuated because the building is unsafe.
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