HARDY, Ark. – Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders sounded a cautionary note while briefing reporters about the impact of natural disasters on the state.
“This is going to be a long road forward for our state,” the governor said, speaking at a news conference in Hardy, Arkansas on Monday morning.
Sanders had just completed an aerial tour of Hardy, which had been devastated by flooding after four days of heavy rain and violent storms crossed the state from April 2 to 5. Sanders called the devastation in the northeast Arkansas town “absolutely heartbreaking.”
Hardy Mayor Ethan Barnes said the unofficial figures from the United States Geological Survey indicated that the city’s adjoining Spring River crest was 22.82 feet due to the storms.
Barnes added that the Red Cross had established a shelter in the town and was providing aid to anyone affected by the weather event, regardless of their home location. He also said a semi-trailer load of supplies from the National Church of Christ was coming to the town.
Sanders pointed out that while the four days of tornadoes, hail, wind, and rain were impactful, they also marked the culmination of weeks of natural disasters in the state, including 14 mid-March tornadoes and late-March wildfires that consumed approximately 12,000 acres.