By: Paige Edmund
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. (UATV) – On May 26, 2024, multiple tornadoes touched down in Northwest Arkansas devastating residents by destroying houses, city buildings, and changing the course of the summer.
The tornadoes were identified to be EF-2s with a width of 1.7 miles, containing the second-largest tornado in Arkansas’s history. These tornados affected cities all over NWA and blew through Bentonville to Beaver Lake.
Many businesses including Kwik Kar, Rose Nails, Popeyes, and Dollar General were destroyed and some are beyond repair. The Home Town Flea Market is left as a pile of rubble from the natural disaster.
“We didn’t get the alarm but it felt like a bomb went off.” said Arkansas resident Paul Allard, who took shelter in his home with his wife. “Unfortunately the weather alarm didn’t come to our phones until about eight minutes after that.”
Many residents were out of town celebrating Memorial Day weekend and were shocked at what they returned to. Residents of Rural Oaks woke up to trees through their roofs, fences, and blocking the neighborhood from outside help.
“When there’s a natural disaster and your neighbors come around to help in any way they can, it warms your heart to know that people care for people,” said Allard.
Despite the changes in landscape and the houses turned into construction zones, residents are working to return to normal and restore their community.