Luckily, a tornado that touched down near the Little Rock Air Force Base in Arkansas Monday evening only caused minor damage to the base.
“We are thankful for the outpour of support from our community following last night's severe weather,” said the base in a Tweet Tuesday morning. “We have observed only minor damages at this time and are focused on cleaning up minor debris.”
There were also reports of damaged homes due to the tornado, said KHTV. News outlets were able to obtain video of the tornado.
Little Rock Air Force base is home to the 19th Airlift Wing – which provides the Department of Defense the largest C-130 fleet in the world and performs missions such as humanitarian airlift relief to disaster victims and airdropping supplies in hostile areas – as well as the 314th Airlift Wing, the 189th Airlift Wing of the Arkansas Air National Guard and the 913th Airlift Group of the Air Force Reserve.
Overall, around 14,000 people live at the base, including military personnel, civilians and family members. It is located around 17 miles north east of Little Rock, Ark., near Jacksonville, Ark.
At around 9:25 p.m. Monday, the National Weather Service announced a tornado emergency for Cato, Gibson, Olmstead, Macon and Little Rock Air Force Base. It said tornado winds were estimated at 35 mph and encouraged people in the area to stay in tornado shelters.
According to KTHV, “a potent, slow moving upper-level storm system,” was expected to begin Monday and last through Wednesday night, “with all modes of severe weather possible.”
Before the tornado touched down near the base, around 3,700 people in Arkansas lost power due to the storm system. Hail damage was also reported throughout the state. Some customers have regained power.
“With more severe weather expected to develop this week, we encourage Airmen and their families to revisit important tornado safety information,” said the base. “The safety of our Airmen and their families is our top priority!”
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