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Storm Leaves Damage in Van Buren

A series of thunderstorms swept through the River Valley last night, causing damage outside homes in Van Buren.

A series of thunderstorms swept through the River Valley early Monday morning (July 15), leaving trees uprooted and power out at hundreds of homes.

Trees snapped and four telephone poles fell on North 13th Street between Baldwin and Cecil in Van Buren.

Terry Buckalew, who lives on North 13th Street near where the damage happened said he was surprised to see the extent of the damage.

"I was pretty surprised," Buckalew said. "It seems like pretty significant damage for what seemed like a pretty small storm."

Donna Huer, who also lives on North 13th Street said she didn't even wake up as the storms tore through the area.

"Yeah, I didn't hear anything," Huer said. "I heard a little bit of rain but nothing I thought I needed to come out and look for."

But when Huer woke up, she found a tree in her front yard had been blown down on top of the phone line.

An estimated 150 people were without phone service Monday morning due to that downed line, according to AT&T. Crews worked throughout the day Monday to get the lines fixed.

Danny Hutchison, who works for Burson Line Service, Inc., was out working to get the phone lines back up Monday. He said he was also surprised by the damage done.

"I didn't know we had weather coming in, so I was kind of shocked," Hutchison said. "I'd seen a little rain on my truck this morning when I got up. But I didn't know we had anything like this happen."

In addition, more than 1,600 residents were without electricity in the early morning hours, according to the OG&E website. It has since been restored.

Cleanup is underway in the affected neighborhoods.

No significant damage or injuries from the storm have been reported.

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