CROSS COUNTY, Ark. — Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders visited the city of Wynne on Thursday to take a look at the rebuild effort as well as plan the road to recovery still ahead as the anniversary of the 2023 tornado nears.
“This was a catastrophic moment for this community and very few ever recover and rebuild the way that you have — and certainly never as quickly,” Sanders said on Thursday. “It is truly remarkable what has taken place, and that’s a credit to this entire community”
A message of hope from the governor to the people of Wynne — one year after a deadly tornado killed four and upended life for thousands.
“To see the destruction and damage at that school and the way the community rallied around getting school back in session so we could return to normalcy, and the fact that students only missed six days of school with that quick turnaround is remarkable,” said Arkansas Education Secretary Jacob Oliva.
The city of Wynne has made a lot of progress in the year since the tornado hit. Still, a long road to recovery remains, and there’s not enough money coming in from FEMA to fund it.
Wynne officials say the total damage in dollars will likely cross $160 million, of which only a small fraction has been reimbursed by the agency. Sanders says more support is on its way.
“We’re also able to provide about seven million dollars in critical infrastructure funding,” she said. “We’ve been able to work with our partners at FEMA for an additional ten million dollars all directed right here in Wynne.”
The governor also visited Wynne High School as well as several private businesses earlier in the day. Sanders says her administration is committed to being there for Wynne as recovery continues.
The state is giving the school about $110 thousand in High Impact Tutoring Grants to help reduce learning loss, as students wait for a new permanent campus to be built.
“We’re going to continue to do that and make sure we meet the needs the people of this community have,” she said.