Vilonia, Arkansas

Vilonia is a city in Faulkner County, Arkansas, United States. Its population was 3,815 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Little Rock–North Little Rock–Conway Metropolitan Statistical Area.

History

Vilonia incorporated on August 23, 1938.

2011 tornado

A small portion of the town was destroyed in a tornado on the evening of April 25, 2011. The devastated area was a mobile home park. The tornado was confirmed by National Weather Service survey crews, who rated the tornado a high end EF2. Four people were killed in the Vilonia area as a result of the twister.

2014 tornado

On April 27, 2014 in the late evening hours, a violent EF4 tornado slammed through Vilonia and neighboring Mayflower just before 8 PM. Sixteen people were killed, several homes in one subdivision were swept clean off their foundations, a 15-ton fertilizer tank was thrown 3/4 of a mile, and several businesses damaged and destroyed. The rating is disputed due to the fact of houses being completely obliterated, but having cut nails as foundation anchors, which gave the tornado a final rating of EF4 with winds at 190 MPH. The NWS office in Little Rock said that if it occurred before the EF-Scale was implemented in 2007, it more than likely would have been rated an F5. There was consideration of upgrading the tornado to EF5 status, but due to the quality of construction, the EF4 rating stands.