Dierks, AR Tornado, Mar 1952

LITTLE ROCK, Ark., March 21 (AP).---At Least 116 persons were killed by tornadoes which cut a long swath through Arkansas and hit neighboring sections of Tennessee and Missouri late Friday.

More than 200 others were injured. There was tremendous property damage.

Ninety-none were known dead in Arkansas alone in the worst disaster every to strike the state.

Six to eight were hurt at Dierks.

At Dierks the tornado missed the business district and the school house, the latter by only three blocks.

The dead, all of Dierks, were indentified as:

Mr. and Mrs. R. S. ALLEN, both about 70.

W. G. ALLEN, about 43, son of the R. S. Allens.

Mrs. MARLIN ALLEN, about 34, wife of a grandson of the R. W. Allens.

Mrs. FRANKIE MOORE, about 75.

Mrs. CURTIS CRISP, age unavailable.

Dierks, situated on U. S. Highway 70 between De Queen and Hot Springs, is about 110 air miles southwest of Little Rock.

The black funnels first dipped into the Rock Creek community, a mile west of Dierks, at 2:45 p.m. Then it roared into the western edge corner of the town and smashed nine houses on a hill top.

A Dierks telephone operator, Betty Desrazo, said the tornado "sounded like a big airplane in trouble."

School Supt. Leroy Gattis said he was downtown. "I heard a terrific roar. I looked to the southwest and saw the twister. It was a black funnel and the inside of it looked like it was on fire."

The storm dipped to earth again in the New Hope community, eight miles north of Dierks. Three houses, barns and other buildings were demolished but on one was injured.

Dallas Morning News, Dallas, TX 22 Mar 1952
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Transcribed by Linda Horton. Thank you, Linda!