(KTAL/KMSS) – Severe weather brought straight-line winds and several possible tornado touchdowns in parts of the ArkLaTex Easter Sunday.
Radar picked up debris signatures in Kingston and south of Frierson, as well as Mt. Lebanon and Arcadia in Bienville Parish and Heflin in southern Webster.
The National Weather Service is reporting a tree down in a home on North Main Street in Heflin. There are no official reports of any injuries or fatalities. Multiple trees are also reported down on Plum Orchard Road in Doyline.
At least one home was destroyed in Kingston off Highway 5 in DeSoto Parish. A man was inside the home at the time but was not seriously injured. DeSoto Sheriff Jayson Richardson was on the scene after the storms and said it appears to be the hardest-hit area in the parish.
RELATED: DPSO working with Red Cross to help residents displaced in Easter Sunday storms
According to the DeSoto Parish Sheriff’s Office, many homes have seen heavy damage and some have been destroyed. Deputies are out assessing the damage and assisting residents.
They say the major areas of impact assessed so far remain in Kingston, Frierson, and Gloster.
Those who live in DeSoto Parish and are in need of shelter have been asked to reach out to DPSO dispatchers at (318) 872-3956. You may be asked for your information which will be passed on to the American Red Cross.
Benton’s Fire Dist. 4 station was also damaged in the storms.
Benton Mayor Shelly Horton said early Sunday afternoon that there were no reports of serious injuries anywhere in the town from the storms and that the roads have been cleared of all debris.
The storms also knocked out power to more than 21,000 SWEPCO customers across the ArkLaTex, including more than 14,000 in Northwest Louisiana. As of 2:30 p.m. Sunday, there were just over 6,000 without power in Bossier Parish and another 4,200 without power in Caddo.
Click here for the latest SWEPCO power outages.
Interstate 20 Eastbound was shut down for a few hours at milepost 68 near Arcadia in Bienville Parish due to trees in the road. That’s an area where debris signature was indicated on radar, but so far there is no confirmation of a tornado touchdown.
This is a developing story and will be updated as more information becomes available.