(The Center Square) – Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders said Monday that 3,000 people are still without power a week after tornadoes swept through the state, killing ten people.
“We have covered a lot of ground in a short amount of time,” said Sanders. “Arkansas got hit by, as you know, just absolutely devastating storms just about a week ago. And within that first day we had 18 counties in our state that were impacted, about 125,000 people without power.”
President Joe Biden approved Sanders’ request for a major disaster declaration on Thursday, opening up federal assistance.
“Hundreds of homes, dozens of businesses that have been destroyed, it’s going to be a long road for Arkansas to recover. And it’s hard to hear some of those statistics and still have hope and still find the silver lining. But moments like this and seeing a community really come together, wraps its arms around each other and take care of one another is what reminds us why it is so incredible to be an Arkansan, to live in a state where people actually care about one another and are willing, even when their own home or own business or cars have been destroyed, to go out and check on their neighbors and make sure that they’re okay and that is what we have seen every single day over the last week,” the governor said.
Sanders first signed an executive order declaring an emergency over Memorial Day weekend, which authorized funds for severe storm damage and flooding. Since then, she has visited various storm-damaged areas and signed another executive order to allow paid leave for affected state employees.
Sanders praised the “tremendous progress” of first responders since tornadoes tore through the state.
“Our linemen have done heroes’ work. Our national guard who have been on the ground for the last several days – we have just over 200 members who are serving just in this community alone – as well as hundreds of members of law enforcement and first responders and those people are really doing just incredible work,” she said.
The Arkansas Disaster Relief Program received a $50,000 boost from Bentonville’s Crain Automotive, where Sanders made her remarks on Monday.
