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Hampton community react to city evacuations following ruptured pipeline

"The police knocked on the door and said we needed to evacuate. I knew it was going to happen, because I could smell the fumes coming through the house."

HAMPTON, Arkansas — "I just thought that this whole little town was going to be wiped off the map, that's what I thought, but by the grace of God, we are all still here," Kiedrah Smith, a resident of Hampton, said.

The last 48 hours for people like her have been anything for normal. 

"I was actually here at my father's house, because we were at the ball game earlier whenever we started smelling all the fumes or whatever," Smith said.

Marquita Cook also lives in the area and said she heard about a nearby pipeline rupturing around 7:00 p.m. on Thursday.

At around 3:00 a.m. on Friday, officers came to Cook's home to relay an urgent message.

"The police knocked on the door and said we needed to evacuate. I knew it was going to happen, because I could smell the fumes coming through the house," Cook said.

She, her children, and much of the Hampton community went about 20 miles over to the next town of Fordyce to seek shelter and stay overnight. 

They gathered at the Fordyce Civic Center.

Officials with the Arkansas Department of Emergency Management said a gravel company was digging in an area near the Hampton city limits when crews struck a pipeline containing ammonia.

Wind in the area caused fumes to spread throughout the city, which prompted authorities to get people out.

Lindsey Bethea described Thursday as chaotic, because she said she tried to go home to get clothes and check on her family, only to be turned away since she lives nearby.

"It was a little bit scary and frustrating because my husband had surgery on his arm and he can't use his arms and I needed to get there to help him and they wouldn't let me," Bethea said. 

People in the town and nearby are counting their blessings and are grateful the unthinkable did not happen. 

"They did an excellent job, because no one was harmed," Smith said. 

The Calhoun County Sheriff's Department said most the main roads are back open and people are able to return to their homes.

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