28 Are Dead After Tornado Wrecks Town

200 Arkansans Hurt As Twister Levels Homes and Buildings.

BERRYVILLE, Ark., Oct. 30 (AP)--Rescue workers, methodically searching ruins left by a devastating tornado that ripped through this Ozark Mountain town, counted twenty-eight known dead Friday night and estimated the injured at 200.

The storm struck about 10 p.m. Thursday, leveling business houses and homes in a half-mile wide path through the northern and western sections of the town, one of the oldest communities in the Ozark region of northwestern Arkansas.

More than 200 homes were destroyed or damaged. Although nearly every business house was damaged, most of them, including three drugstores, were able to open for business. The town's population is 1,485.

Emergency Hospitals Filled.

Doctors and nurses hurried here from Harrison and Eureka Springs to aid the town's three doctors in caring for the injured. Berryville was without hospital facilities and many of the more seriously hurt were taken to neighboring communities.

Later, emergency hospitals were set up in the city hall, courthouse and Methodist Church. They were filled to overflowing. Search still went on in the flattened buildings for persons reported missing.

Red Cross disaster workers, sent from Arkansas, Missouri and Texas, took charge of relief activities.

Power Plant Destroyed

The community's power plant was destroyed by the tornado, forcing rescue workers to labor through the night by torch light, candles and other makeshifts. An eight-man medical detachment from Camp Robinson reached the scene early with medical supplies.

Providing food and shelter for the shocked community's survivors proved a big problem. Red Cross workers, state agencies and other groups co-operated to operate the emergency hospitals, a community soup kitchen and temporary housing.

Dallas Morning News, Dallas, TX 31 Oct 1942
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Transcribed by Linda Horton. Thank you, Linda!