Tornadoes, storms cause damage in Arkansas

LEACHVILLE, Ark. - Thunderstorms and tornadoes damaged homes and downed trees and power lines in northern Arkansas on Saturday, injuring at least one person. Six people died in traffic accidents.

A tornado touched down near Leachville, in the northeast corner of Arkansas, state police said. At least one person was injured, authorities said.

The heavy rain also prompted flood warnings and stranded several campers, canoeists and kayakers along the rapidly-flowing Buffalo National River. National Park Service employees rescued one kayaker from a tree at Ponca.

''We had lots of people who have been stranded for short periods of time,'' said Searcy County Sheriff George Sutterfield.

A lightning strike broke a water main in rural Johnson County, resulting in a warning not to drink the water. The water system serves less than 500 customers.

In Searcy County, the flatbed of a tractor-trailer and a minivan collided in the rain on U.S. 65, killing three people. Two people died in a head-on crash as rain fell on U.S. 67 in Jackson County, and one person was killed in a two-vehicle accident on state Highway 17 in Monroe County, police said.

High winds felled about 100 trees, overturned several trailers and damaged other buildings near Southside in Independence County. No injuries were reported there.

Meanwhile in North Carolina, tens of thousands remained without electricity following storms Thursday.

Two people died in the aftermath Thursday's storms. One man fell from a ladder in Elon College on Thursday and died from his injuries. Another man in Burlington was killed Friday by a tree limb while he was cutting trees knocked down by the storms.

Duke Power Co. said 40,000 of its customers remained without power Saturday afternoon, with most of the outages in Greensboro and Burlington, which received the brunt of the storm. Carolina Power & Light reported 11,000 customers without power Saturday night. Power wasn't expected to be restored for most people until Sunday night.