VILONIA, Ark. — It's a time of reflection as we approach the 10th anniversary of the deadly EF-4 tornado that swept through Mayflower and Vilonia on April 27, 2014.
The school district is still recovering from the devastating severe weather, which killed more than a dozen people.
"It was really like something you'd see in a movie out of a war zone that people had gone in, and bombs had just blown things off of the surface of the earth," Vilonia High School Principal Ronnie Simmons said.
That day in April sticks with the Vilonia community, especially Simmons, who was an assistant principal during that time.
"In 2014, I was at home with my family in our safe room," Simmons said. "We were listening to a radio to hear what was happening."
Once the skies cleared and it was safe to come out, Simmons discovered the destruction left behind.
"Trees twisted off, houses completely gone, vehicles just crumpled up," Simmons said. "They had been picked up and thrown in different places."
The tornado also destroyed the Frank Mitchell Intermediate School, but the Vilonia School District rebuilt it shortly after. When the tornado hit, the school was in the last stages of construction, getting ready to open that fall, but it opened a year later than initially planned in August 2015.
"it was really devastating to see that happen," Simmons said.
Although they were able to rebuild structures, they couldn't bring back those who lost their lives, but Simmons said they are not forgotten.
"I knew one of them personally," Simmons said. "He was a student I had in science class with me, and he had graduated already."
Two other young children passed away, too.
"Their mom... she gives a scholarship to one of our seniors in honor of those boys," Simmons said. "It was such a horrific event, but she wants something good and positive to come out of it."
Simmons said it doesn't feel like 10 years ago, and while he remembers all the trauma from that day, he also remembers people's kindness.
"It's refreshing to see the goodness and people come out and help," Simmons said. "I think Eagle Strong was one of the things people said a lot back then, and that's still true today."
Tune into THV11 on April 26 at 6:30 p.m. for a special look back at the tornado.