Tornado roars through Arkansas town, kills 3

LITTLE ROCK, Arkansas (Reuters) - At least three people were killed and two dozen injured on Thursday night when a tornado smashed through Mena, Arkansas, officials said on Friday. "About half the injuries were reported as serious," said Tommy Jackson, a spokesman for the Arkansas Department of Emergency Management at North Little Rock, Arkansas. Mena, with a population of 5,600, is the seat of Polk County, on the Arkansas border with Oklahoma, and is about 130 miles west of Little Rock, the state capitol. The storm roared through the small town shortly after 8 p.m. CST on Thursday night (0100 GMT on Friday morning). Damage but no death was reported in several smaller, nearby communities. The number of homes damaged or destroyed had yet to be determined, Jackson said. But he said there was extensive damage to the Polk County courthouse and municipal buildings, and to the downtown business area. Shelters were set up in two Mena churches for the displaced. Governor Mike Beebe dispatched 30 National Guardsmen to the town to assist local officials in providing security. Entergy, the state's primary electricity provider, said more than 10,000 customers were without power in three counties closer to central Arkansas because of damage to lines from high winds. "It's still far too early to determine how extensive the damage is," Jackson said.