3 dead after twister hits Arkansas town

(CNN) -- A tornado ripped through Mena, Arkansas, on Thursday, killing at least three people and damaging more than 100 homes, authorities said.

"It looks like a war zone out here," said James Reeves of Polk County's Department of Emergency Management.

Mena is located in Polk County near the Arkansas/Oklahoma state line. Officials said power and gas is out in the western half of the city. They have also set up three shelters, but less than 50 people have sought refuge.

"Most people are staying with friends and family," Reeves said.

Officials said the three people who died were elderly. A man and a woman died when their house collapsed and a woman was killed after being struck by debris. Officials said 22 people were also injured by the tornado.

Authorities plan to go door-to-door Friday to check on residents and conduct cleanup efforts.

Arkansas Gov. Mike Beebe sent 30 National Guard soldiers to the town on Thursday, with 20 more expected on Friday

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Central States BREAKING NEWS: Tornado Hits Mena-Arkansas
By Capt. Geoffrey Spaulding @ 21:48

At 8:11pm Thursday evening- Mena police were reporting a tornado on the ground and doing damage in that west-central Arkansas city of about 5600 people.

It's been reported the courthouse "took a direct hit" from the tornado and that there was "major damage" according to this report on FOX-16 News in Little Rock.

Here are some MWS Doppler radar pictures- standard reflectivity and wind velocity- around the time of the inital 8:11pm tornado report.

The red-green area together on the velocity image shows the wind circulating around the tornado at Mena.
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