Melisa Swearingen woke up early Sunday morning as a tornado tore through her home in northwest Arkansas. As she walked down the stairs with her toddler, she looked out the window and saw a 40-foot tree falling toward the house.
“The whole house was shaking like a roller coaster,” Ms. Swearingen said in an interview outside her home. “I thought: This was it.”
But the tree crashed into a room above the family’s garage, giving her time to gather her 7-year-old son. As another tree tore down the other side of the house, she, her husband and their children huddled in a first-floor bedroom. “I thought the house would be gutted and we would be sucked in,” Ms. Swearingen, 35, said.
Nearby, Byron Copeland, 38, had sent his wife, their three children and the family dogs to the basement while he monitored the storm. Then came the terrifying booms of exploding electrical transformers. “I ran to the basement like a little girl,” Mr. Copeland said. While waiting for the weather to calm down, he said, the family sang the lullaby “Jesus Loves Me.”
The Swearingens and Copelands were among millions of families whose lives were upended by the series of tornadoes that ravaged parts of Arkansas, Oklahoma, Texas and Kentucky over Memorial Day weekend . At least 23 people were killed, including eight in Arkansas.
One of the hardest hit cities was Rogers, Arkansas, a town located between Walmart’s headquarters in Bentonville and Arkansas’ largest state park. Nearly two-thirds of Rogers lost power. Downed trees made travel difficult. And Rogers Mayor Greg Hines had to fight his way through the branches of a 120-year-old maple tree that blocked his front door before he could take a helicopter tour of the damage.
“You could see the tops of the trees just flattened. I’ve never seen anything like it,” Mr. Hines said.
Tornadoes tossed trucks onto their sides and destroyed buildings and homes. At nearby Beaver Lake, storms tore a 20-slip dock from the shore, which was found floating in the lake with boats still attached.
A tree at Fifth and Cypress streets hit a fire hydrant, triggering a geyser that flooded the road. And a 250-year-old catalpa was destroyed.
Mr. Hines said he hoped that by sunset Monday all roads would have at least one passable lane and that on Tuesday the city would open a command center to help people get housing and food aid.
He estimates that more than 30,000 people in Rogers do not have electricity, but that most of them could be connected to power again in the coming days.
Rogers residents said they are determined to repair the damage and continue their efforts as a community.
Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders toured the remains of the beloved Susie Q Malt Shop, which has been around for almost 64 years. The tornadoes had torn off the roof and knocked down the walls, exposing the kitchen and soda fountain. There wasn’t much standing besides the heavy steel freezer.
In a video of the rubble taken by a local photographer, packages of Oreo cookies could be seen in cupboards with the tops torn off. One of the building’s walls remains intact, with Susie Q’s menu painted pink and turquoise.
Mayor Hines said that even amid such widespread devastation, the loss of Susie Q was particularly painful. “I received maybe 18 to 22 photos from voters,” he said. “Everyone belonged to this building – not their own house. This highlights what this building means to this community.
On Monday, in downtown Rogers, a municipal employee used a backhoe to remove branches and place them on lawns. Residents spent much of Memorial Day clearing streets of debris and uprooted trees that had torn up pipes and sidewalks.
“We just keep going,” said Will Swearingen, 40, Melisa’s husband. He and his family plan to live in their home while it rebuilds. “Chain saws, water, oil, gas. That’s all we need.
Nearly two dozen members of the extended Swearingen family live in historic Rogers and participate in the neighborhood’s annual Fourth of July parade. Up to 300 people attend the celebration, following the course on foot or on horseback, on lawn mowers or on golf carts.
As Mr. Swearingen’s cousin, Scott Swearingen, 41, walked through a desert of broken wood, leaves and houses, he pointed to two evergreen trees still standing. This place is where a large American flag is traditionally draped for Independence Day. The storm will not change this tradition.
“One hundred percent, without a doubt, we will have a parade this year,” he said. “One hundred percent.”
