LOWELL, Ark. — On Friday, boat owners drove in and out of Hickory Creek Marina to survey the damage of their property.
Thursday's storms brought high winds to the park, which sits on Beaver Lake. Trees were seen snapped in half and uprooted in the park, but it was the Marina that had many worried.
Dock F of the Hickory Creek Marina had been flipped over by the severe weather. Boats were flipped over or blown away from the dock with crews recovering the property from the lake.
Juan Luis Barrios was detailing boats at the marina when the storms hit but, fortunately, on a newer dock closer to the lake.
"It was getting kind of windy, and rain was coming down. But I've been through it already all these past few years, and never got worse. They never got that bad, you know," Barrios said.
Barrios said he hadn't checked the forecast and had received calls from his wife on his whereabouts. He was told by his wife that students were sent home early because of the severe weather. He also received calls from his cousin in California, worried because he heard of the severe weather. Barrios said the high winds were pushing the dock into the lake and so he grabbed ahold of a pole on the dock.
"Man, I've never been so scared in my life," Barrios said. "When it all got calm, that's when I went to my van and started driving away. And that's when I noticed all the boats everywhere. I was like, 'Oh my God.'"
Barrios recorded a video of the damage immediately after the winds. Boat owners and other concerned lake goers went to the marina to see how they could help. David Elder drove through the storm on his way home from work in Cassville, when he received a call from his son.
"I just pulled up in front of my house when my son called me and asked what dock her boat was. So I kind of right away figured there was a problem," Elder said.
Elder kept his boat at the dock for the past three years and was among Dock F owners that stopped by the marina Wednesday for insurance inspection. He explained that the marina previously saw severe weather damage the year before he joined. Though, he didn't expect disaster would strike twice.
"Unfortunately, there were a lot of boats that were flipped over. And I feel for those folks as well. We have some damage, but it's nothing that I don't think can be repaired," Elder said.
After multiple calls, Hickory Creek Marina declined to comment. In a post to Facebook, they told customers that they'll be recovering the dock in the coming weeks. Boat owners tell us they're being offered bigger slips at the same cost to stay with the marina.
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