EARLE - Two weeks after a tornado blew away part of this town in rural Crittenden County, residents loaded up on donated supplies while they continue to wait for federal aid.
On Thursday, at least 100 people who saw their homes and cars crumple in the wind and food spoil in power failures that followed the May 2 storms waited outside Earle High School to get food, papertowels, clothes and other necessities.
They are among untold number of residents across the state waiting to hear if May storms caused enough damage to get grants and loans from the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
May storms damaged at least 674 homes, destroying 181, according to figures released by the state Thursday.
The May 2 storms alone caused an estimated $3.4 millionin damage to public infrastructure such as highways, roads and government buildings. An estimate was not available for the May 10 storms that hit Stuttgart hard.
Government help is the only way 25-year-old Sara McDaniel can begin to start piecing her life back together after a May 2 tornado leveled the home she was renting outside Earle. All of her belongings were blown to bits, scattered in fields up to a mileaway. Only a few pieces of clothing were salvageable.
The American Red Cross is paying a month's rent at a new place, but her job at an auto parts store won't begin to give her enough money to get back to normal, she said.
"I have nothing," she said while waiting in line to get supplies.
The one-day event organized by the Catholic Charities of Arkansas was the second of its kind this month. A similar event last week at the Arkansas Rice Depot in southwest Little Rock served 129 adults and children. More relief fairs are to come, including one in Stuttgart, organizers said.
This week, the state amended its request for federal aid, hoping to bolster its chances of getting a disaster declaration for the May 2 storms, said Richard Griffin, a disaster management chief for the Arkansas Department of Emergency Management.
Originally, Gov. Mike Beebe asked for federal aid for individuals in six counties. This week, he added four counties to the list, and included a request forpublic assistance.
"There has been no official denial of any of our requests yet," Griffin said.
However, he said federal officials advised him to make a more complete damage report to better the chances for aid.
The May storms were just the latest in the year's string of nasty weather, including persistent flooding and violent tornadoes that have caused millions of dollars of damage and 26 deaths statewide.
FEMA since February has authorized more than $24.1 million in aid for the state's recovery.
But for now, residents feeling Mother Nature's wrath will haveto continue to rely on the kindness of strangers and the support of family.
Earle resident Judy Miller teared up when she learned the international relief group, Tzu Chi Foundation, was giving her a debit card to access several hundred dollars.
The 68-year-old retired schoolteacher went to the school so she and her husband wouldn't have to be so reliant on their son, whom they've been staying with since the storm lifted the roof off their home.
"I don't want to sponge off my son," she said, while waiting in the supply line at the high school.
Arkansas, Pages 13, 19 on 05/16/2008