Page 47 - Interstate 40 News Today

This is the only reason we are in interstate 40. there are homes that were severely damaged. it looks like a battle zone lots of debris littered across the roads. >> maria molina we thank you for bringing us up to date. we will be getting back to you as we come on through out the evening. maria molina our meteorologist on the ground in may flour, arkansas. thank you. we will get back to you. by the way i want to recap whats happening. there is another tornado warning in arkansas and jackson coun...

Through arkansas. this is yet again a threat for more thunderstorms throughout overnight hours. there is still a threat for more possible tornadoes out here. but right now were firmly in mayflower, arkansas we do see a lot of damage. were on i 40 interstate 40 approaching storm cloud at the time we are facing the storm. there was a tornado warning. the storm was approaching the little rock area. in this case north of it mayflower about 20 minutes or so driving by from little rock, arkansas as fa...

Justice. >> reporter: we knew the risk was high in arkansas. the storm prediction center issued a high risk. we went to oklahoma, texas and arkansas and chased the tornados over the weekend and followed this storm system that impacted mayflower. we arrived a couple minutes after the tornado touched down. the sun was setting and people were being rescued along interstate 40. people are injuries and in the distance we could see fires. today the storm system continues and there is a threat that the...

Looked for some of these storms that could potentially produce severe weather. the storm prediction center issued a high risk for arkansas and we watch on the radar as the storm started to produce some rotation and a tornado came downtown there was some debris we could see on the radar and came to mayflower and the tornado, unfortunately, came through this region as well. take a look at some of these aerial shots as the storm ripped through parts of interstate 40. a lot of damage has been left h...

Seen the destruction out here. we see homes that are completely destroyed, almost unrecognizable. cars that have been flipped, trailers that have been mangled. and when we arrived on interstate 40, we saw people being rescued from their cars. some people were able to seek shelter just in the nick of time. some of them receiving tornado warnings on their cell phones. take a listen at what a man had to say. >> my wife was at work, i had the baby with me. we jumped in the storm cellar on our phone....

For that region. from your vantage point what are you seeing on the ground? you talk about a battle zone. it can be devastating the aftermath. you are seeing search and rescue crews going on. what else can you tell us about the people and how are they responding? are they taking shelter and are they finding coverage from this potential of more tornadoes striking that area? >> that particular tornado is gone. n no one appears to be seeking shelter. we can see cars moved off of each other on the s...

All around. as the tornado crossed i-40, several vehicles were thrown off the road. homes were damaged. to the northeast of vilonia, the storm seemed to get stronger and wiped out homes completely. >> brett, we know that there were advisories and warnings of tornadoes in the area in some of the areas of the six states. do you think those warnings were heeded and do you get a sense that it could have been much worse if people hadnt gotten out of the way? >> absolutely. when youre on an interstate...

The entire town flattened by massive twisters that left at least 16 people dead. that is where we find our own maria molina. maria, tell us about the extent of the damage. >> it is so extensive.ç heather, we are just seeing search and rescue crews back out this morning sorting through the rubble and homes have been completely destroyed. you can see behind me whats left of a home. trees have been toppled, cars mangled, tractor-trailers twisted. the extent of the damage is just absolutely heart ...

Before sunset so we were able to see some of the damage at that time. behind me you can see what used to be a home just completely destroyed. we have also just seen search and rescue crews back out searching through the rubble. when we arrived it was just a couple of minutes after the tornado hit mayflower, arkansas. we were tracking the storm. we were with storm chasers in the state of arkansas because we knew there was a high risk to see these long track tornadoes in this region. we saw a man ...

This is what he is going to find, a community destroyed. nbcs janet shamlian is live there. how bad is the damage there, janet? >> well, it is devastating. the debris is always the same from the tornadoes, but you see belongings, and somebody laundry hamper over to the car tees to, the what you are seeing behind me is only a sliver of what i can 360. we are 100 yards off of interstate 40, and just in every direction and with the trees snapped off, and you will see the raw bark and the twisted me...