Ripley County hit hard by tornadoes: Officials assess damage and power outages

Around 11:30 a.m. Saturday, Ripley County Emergency Management director Brian Byrd stated no fatalities had been confirmed after the county was struck by tornadoes.

One woman was rescued from a trailer with a downed tree on it, but she wasn't seriously injured, he said.

"So far everyone is accounted for and all the injuries are minor," Byrd assured. He noted this could change since rural areas are harder to tally.

Naylor and Oxly saw sporadic damage — mostly downed limbs and debris on roofs and roads. Byrd confirmed Fairdealing and Doniphan saw heavier impact.

This story was updated at 1:12 p.m. Saturday.

ORIGINAL STORY:

Staff Writer Samantha Tucker is currently on scene in the Naylor area where officials report a tornado caused heavy damage in the evening hours of Friday, March 14.

Ripley County Emergency Management director Brian Byrd said the southern portion of Ripley County received heavy blows from a tornado near Naylor. He confirmed most of the southern half of the county and Doniphan were without power Saturday morning, March 15. Byrd said there have been several injuries and most roads are blocked.

National Weather Service officials said it will be hard to determine how many tornadoes passed through the area until assessment teams are on site.

"From what we can tell, it was likely several tornadoes," said lead meteorologist Derrick Snyder. "From what we can tell, they were cycling. The system would produce a tornado, it would wrap up and dissipate and another would form and drop to the east of the previous tornado."

Reporting by DAR staff Samantha Tucker and Donna Farley.

This is an evolving story and updates will be shared as they become available.