March 31, 2023, feels both like yesterday and 10 years ago to Capi Peck, a Little Rock city director and restaurateur who faced the EF-3 tornado that tore through Pulaski County last spring. She and about two dozen others packed into the walk-in coolers at Trio’s Restaurant on Cantrell Road as the storm surged overhead, breaking windows and sending debris into the dining room.
One year later, Peck’s business is still recovering. Trio’s closed for two months after the storm and reopened last May, but Peck recently had to shut it down again to make $200,000 worth of much-needed kitchen repairs. The tornado’s 165-mile-per-hour winds damaged four stories worth of ductwork at Pavillion in the Park, the shopping center that houses the restaurant, and Trio’s kitchen has been filling with smoke.
Peck said she’s optimistic about reopening quickly, but it’s a reminder that the impacts of the tornado are ongoing.
Several people were injured during the March 2023 storm, and one person in North Little Rock died. Thousands of structures were damaged in Pulaski County along the tornado’s 34-mile path, amounting to at least $345 million in insurance claims from residents and business owners as of Oct. 31, according to the Arkansas Insurance Department. In east Arkansas, another tornado generated by the same storm led to four deaths in Wynne and widespread devestation.
State and federal aid began flowing to residents and local residents soon afterwards. The Arkansas Department of Emergency Management and nonprofit groups organized emergency shelters for about 1,300 Arkansans after the tornadoes, the agency said recently. ADEM has worked closely with FEMA, the Federal Emergency Management Agency, over the last year to distribute tens of millions of dollars in assistance for individuals and communities. The Small Business Administration has approved more than $23 million in loans for homeowners and renters statewide.
“The recovery efforts are a marathon and not a sprint,” Little Rock Mayor Frank Scott Jr. said in a recent interview. “It’s going to take two to five years to get back to normal. I’m grateful for our residents, business owners and volunteers that demonstrate our resiliency.”
A drive through the most heavily damaged parts of Little Rock one year later shows things have come a long way but are still far from fully recovered. Dozens of properties still look as if they were just hit by the tornado, whether due to out-of-town owners who have yet to clean up their plot or local residents struggling with insurance claims.
The city has waived fees for about 2,300 building permits for properties that were in the tornado’s path, saving property owners more than $876,000, according to recent data. New builds that are replacing houses built decades ago aren’t required to meet current code, Scott said.
Out of 588 properties in Little Rock that sustained major damage, 288 owners have secured permits for repairs, according to the city’s Planning and Development Department. City staff are in the process of sending out final notices to owners of the remaining 300 that aren’t seeing progress on rebuilding.
At least 10 citations had been issued to owners of untouched properties as of March 29, a city spokesperson said. Scott said it’s difficult to get out-of-town property owners to comply.
Home, strange home
The Walnut Valley neighborhood in West Little Rock remains one of the most damaged parts of town a year after the storm.
Peck, who represents Little Rock’s most heavily affected ward, said the city has come up short in helping residents in Walnut Valley. City-led assistance and community volunteer work was strong in the weeks after March 31, 2023, but that help has petered out while the need hasn’t.
Residents trying to rebuild have faced repeated incidents of theft at their homes and construction sites, Peck said. When she’s requested additional police presence in the area, Peck said she’s been told the Little Rock Police Department lacks the staff.
“I’m very disappointed in our approach to Walnut Valley, especially as the person who’s elected to take care of them,” Peck said. “When I get, ‘No, no, we can’t’ … I’m up against a brick wall. I can only do so much.”
Mayor Scott and LRPD chief Health Helton said there are already increased patrols in tornado-impacted areas and it will continue to be that way for the foreseeable future.
Dillon Bevill-Smith — profiled in an Arkansas Times’ cover story in November on tornado recovery efforts — serves as the secretary of Walnut Valley’s homeowners association and says the threat of crime is weighing on residents. An LRPD spokesperson said at least three recent incidents are under investigation.
“The safety of this area and police force is an absolute must,” said Bevill-Smith, who lives in one of two houses still standing in his cul-de-sac on Shackleford Court. “We’re struggling over here. People finally starting to recover are getting hit again and again.”
Bevill-Smith was displaced for eight and a half months after the storm before he and his housemates could safely move back in mid-November.
Illegal dumping has also been a problem, Bevill-Smith said. Outsiders are coming into the neighborhood and discarding old drywall, tree limbs and even unwanted furniture on some sites, he said, leaving property owners to clean up the mess.
Another unexpected consequence of living in a neighborhood-turned-construction-zone is the poor condition of the roads. Nails and other debris sometimes litter the street. Bevill-Smith’s three-person household has three vehicles, and in the last year they have had to replace four tires and repair damaged tires seven times.
It’s one of the many smaller expenses that quickly add up for homeowners already struggling with the financial burden of rebuilding. Insurance won’t cover Bevill-Smith’s tire troubles, and he’s already spent some $40,000 out-of-pocket for home repairs, he said. The city needs to sweep the streets more frequently, Bevill-Smith said.
Zee Owens, another Walnut Valley resident we profiled last fall, is still working through her rebuild. Owens is expecting at least another month before she returns home. She’s been living with her niece nearby in the meantime, and while she’s enjoyed the time with her family, Owens said she’s ready to have her own space back.
Most recently, Owens had wireless internet installed, put security cameras in place and picked out new furniture and appliances. She’s still missing indoor walls, but Owens has remained positive and patient throughout the process. She’d rather take the time to get it right than rush to the finish line, she said.
“I definitely have my days, but I have work to keep me busy,” Owens, a nurse, said. “There are so many positives in the neighborhood, and watching it get put back together is a good thing. … The little things are progress.”
What lies ahead
For many residents whose homes escaped the worst of the March 2023 storm, the tornado’s most lasting impact may be the destruction of the canopy that had shaded their neighborhoods. Where countless decades-old trees once stood, barren landscapes now remain.
The view outside Trio’s Restaurant is no longer filled with foliage turning each season, but is instead a clear shot to an apartment complex across the road. “Sadly, we’re sort of used to it now,” Peck said. “For my lifetime and another generation, we’re not going to see it return to how it was.”
The city has applied for a handful of federal tree grants and are waiting to hear back about those, Peck said. In the meantime, residents interested in replanting trees can check out a project spearheaded by the Arkansas Master Naturalists.
Murray Park, which sustained some damage, is fully reopened. Reservoir Park is another story. The densely wooded, 60-acre park off Cantrell Road was turned into a debris drop-off site for several weeks after the storm. It will likely be closed for years to come as planners decide how to transform it.
As spring storm season approaches, the households hit by the March 2023 tornado said they’re taking severe weather warnings even more seriously this year.
When the tornado sirens went off in Little Rock on a stormy night a few weeks ago, Owens said she was filled with such strong emotions afterward that she cried. The relief she felt was insurmountable when the storm passed through the city without major damage. She made it through the hard parts by checking in with her family group chat, Owens said.
Bevill-Smith feels a sense of anxiety when he thinks of the anniversary date, as is common with most tragedies, he said. Reaching out to others who experienced the storm has helped calm his nerves, and he’s continuously checking in with the new friends he’s made over the last year.
It’s clear there is still much work to be done. Scott said year two of recovery will include ensuring residents of the impacted areas have access to affordable housing.
In light of the disaster and the resilience that followed, Little Rock is one of three cities to receive a “Survivor Tree Seedling” from the 9/11 Memorial and Museum. The other two seedlings are headed to Uvalde, Texas, the site of a 2022 school shooting that killed 19 students and two teachers at Robb Elementary School, and Waukesha, Wisconsin, where a driver intentionally ran his car into a group of people at a Christmas parade in 2021, killing six and injuring dozens.
Little Rock’s tree will be planted in Walnut Valley.
“It is a true honor to be recognized for a day that will live in history and in all of our minds,” Scott said. “The seedling is a true sign of rebirth.