A couple and their 11-year-old daughter were killed when a powerful twister hit their home in Atkins, in Pope County (about 60 miles northwest of Little Rock); another Pope County resident died, three people died in Clinton (on U.S. 65 in Van Buren County north of Conway), two died in Conway County (just west of Conway), two died in Izard County (just southeast of Mountain Home), and one died in Stone County (40 miles southeast of Mountain Home).

Letty's Mexican restaurant is flattened in Gassville. Other reports say homes and businesses are damaged in Flippin, Cotter and Gassville.

A shelter is set up at Cotter School. Students will not attend classes at Cotter School on Wednesday.

The biggest problem is downed power lines and some live lines on cars blocking highways. Power is out from the west side of Mountain Home to Gassville and it could take power company crews a couple of days to restore service.

At Gassville, debris, including parts of houses, blocked U.S. 62. Much of the town was sealed off because of the possibility that gas leaks could result in an explosion.

Natasha Naragon, a spokeswoman for the secretary of state's office, said a polling site in Gassville was closed as the storm approached. Several polling locations in Conway County also shut down because of the storms.

Authorities asked people to stay off cell phones to let emergency communications get through because some land line service is down. Most businesses are closed.

The worst destruction is to a mobile home park on the south side of Gassville (near Rea Valley on the White River). The nursing home was not hit and is being used as a shelter for storm victims.

Spotters reported seeing a tornado near Gassville and Whiteville. The Associated Press reports initial radio traffic from Baxter County sheriff's deputies said several people were injured in Gassville, as well as debris and "houses" blocking U.S. 62 through the center of town.

KY3 News' weather watcher in Flippin, which is in Marion County, says a mobile home is overturned in Flippin, and powerlines are down, and trees are blown over on cars. Jack Otley of Peel emailed KY3 News to say Marion County took a major hit from this storm. Otley says a tornado touched down in the Rea Valley Area near Arkansas 101 and destroyed a home with injuries.

Otley also heard Gassville took some major damage. In the middle of this mess, he said, Flippin has a report of a fully involved structure fire in downtown Flippin.

Dan Sears emailed to say he'd heard ambulances from the hospital in Harrison were sent to Gassville for patients. The National Weather Service has received a report of a mobile home park damaged in Gassville, with power poles blocking the road through town.

The National Weather Service says law enforcement officers report a tornado damaged homes on Highway 354 east of Ash Flat. That's in Sharp County, south of Thayer, Mo. and Mammoth Spring, Ark. U.S. 167 is closed south of Ash Flat. Trees and power lines are down across the county.

A firefighter in Hardy, Ark., on U.S. 63 south of Mammoth Spring, says the business district there is gone except for only possibly two businesses. He said there is major damage all over the area, including in Highland.

A viewer says she's received reports from family in Highland that they had a tornado with major damage, injuries, and people trapped, a vehicle is inside the Krispy Kreme shop with people trapped inside. There also was word that the fire station was heavily damaged, and possibly the high school.

About 40 miles south of Mountain Home, amateur radio operators report the hospital is damaged in Mountain View in Stone County. The reports say the emergency room is closed there.

The storm system hit areas almost all the way to Little Rock. A tornado touched down in downtown Atkins, northwest of Little Rock, and killed three people. Renee Preslar, a spokeswoman for the Arkansas Department of Emergency Management, says the tornado touched down near Highways 324 and 105, then stayed on the ground and passed into Conway County to the east.

Trained spotters reported a tornado on the ground near the Conway-Van Buren county line shortly after the tornado was reported at Atkins. Preslar says local officials were trying to assess damage from the tornado.

An Arkansas State Police dispatcher says multiple car crashes slowed traffic on Interstate 40 near Atkins to a crawl. A tractor-trailer reportedly blew over in an eastbound lane of I-40 between Atkins and Blackwell.

Matt DeCample, a spokesman for Gov. Mike Beebe, said up to 30 Arkansas National Guardsmen would be sent to Pope County on Wednesday to help with recovery efforts and security.

The Pope County sheriff's office said emergency crews were going door-to-door seeking other possible victims in Atkins. Power lines blocked traffic to the community along the Arkansas River in central Arkansas.

Renee Preslar, spokeswoman for the Arkansas Department of Emergency Management, said the Atkins twister touched down near the center of town. Cell phone pictures sent to TV stations showed a dark, broad funnel approaching the community of 3,000. Traffic was snarled on nearby Interstate 40, with reports of tractor-trailers on their sides.

Randy Ort, a spokesman for the Arkansas Highway and Transportation Department, said workers opened one lane heading in each direction but traffic remained slow.

Dan Daugherty, a spokesman for Entergy Arkansas, said 19,000 customers out were without power statewide. The majority of those were clustered around Russellville, just to the west of Atkins.

Doug White, a vice president and spokesman for Arkansas Electric Cooperatives Corp., said the majority of the 20,000 customers of the Petit Jean Electric Cooperative based at Clinton were without power shortly after 9 p.m. Tuesday. White said another 7,000 customers of First Electric Cooperative based at Jacksonville were without power.