Union County Sheriff Ken Jones said the two fatalities occurred about five miles apart and that numerous homes were destroyed. The National Weather Service issued a tornado warning at 11:14 p.m. Wednesday.
``It's been a tornado, I promise you,'' Jones said.
Names of the dead had not been released.
Union County Emergency Management Coordinator Jackie Wiley said the victims were an elderly man and woman, in different parts of the county. Wiley said at least 13 others were injured in Union County. In Claiborne Parish, La., just southwest of Union County, officials reported at least four people injured.
Two volunteer fire department buildings sustained damage in the storm, one of them destroyed, Jones said. The Lawson Urbana Fire Department had a new station and new equipment but the station was blown down, the sheriff said.
Jones said the damage path started at Junction City at the Louisiana state line and moved northeast through Faircrest, Iron Mountain Road, High Banks and Lawson.
``A lot of homes are completely destroyed - brick homes, wood-frame homes, mobile homes,'' he said. ``It's a pretty devastating storm.''
Jones said some of the injuries were serious and that he would not be surprised if the injury total rises. He said deputies and other emergency workers have accounted for residents in the stricken area and that no one was known to be missing as of about 6 a.m. Thursday.
Among the damaged areas was a subdivision at Rushwood Road, where Jones said a number of new homes were destroyed.
Many roads in the county had been cleared of downed trees and power lines, but the work was continuing in some areas as sunrise approached. The sheriff said power outages were still being addressed Thursday morning.
Union County was the site of a fire at a hazardous waste storage site on Jan. 2, which led to an evacuation in El Dorado. Jones said the storm damage was about 10 miles from the Teris LLC plant, where the fire burned and then smoldered for days.
``In the 13 days of the New Year, I feel like we've already worked 30 days,'' Jones said.
