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At least 1 killed, 5 injured after tornado hits nursing home in Arkansas

By Theresa Seiger and Bob D'Angelo, Cox Media Group National Content Desk

Deaths, injuries reported following tornado in Arkansas Authorities responded to the Monette Manor nursing home in Monette, Arkansas on Friday, Dec. 10, 2021, after a tornado struck the building, officials said. (MattGush/iStock, File)

By Theresa Seiger and Bob D'Angelo, Cox Media Group National Content Desk

MONETTE, Ark. — At least one person died and five others were injured Friday evening when a tornado struck a nursing home in Arkansas, according to WHBQ-TV and The Associated Press.

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Update 7:52 a.m. EST Dec. 11: The Craighead County Coroner confirmed one person was killed and at least five were injured at the Monette Manor nursing home in Monette, Arkansas, WHBQ-TV reported. The tornado that struck the Monette Manor nursing home trapped 20 people inside as the building collapsed, Craighead County Judge Marvin Day told The Associated Press.

Original report: Police in Monette confirmed the deaths and injuries to WHBQ, telling the news station that they happened at the Monette Manor nursing home. WHBQ reported “widespread damage” throughout the city as storms rolled across the Mid-South.

Photos shared on social media showed heavy damage to Monette Manor. Craighead County Judge Marvin Day told The Associated Press that at least 20 people were trapped at the nursing home Friday night. Five people had serious injures, according to the AP.

“It looks like it’s pretty much destroyed,” Day told the AP of the building. “It (happened) 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.

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Monette Manor has about 90 beds, according to the Arkansas Department of Human Services.

Earlier Friday, Gov. Asa Hutchinson said officials with the state Division of Emergency Management had reported a tornado in Mississippi County.

Several tornadoes were reported Friday in parts of the Midwest as inclement weather swept the region, according to the AP.

Officials in Edwardsville, Illinois also responded late Friday to a report of people injured or trapped after a roof collapsed at an Amazon warehouse. The exact number and extent of injuries was not immediately clear.

In a Twitter post late Friday, Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker said he was monitoring the situation closely with local officials, Illinois State Police and other officials.

“My prayers are with the people of Edwardsville tonight, and I’ve reached out to the mayor to provide any needed state resources,” he said.

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