Several roads flooded as rains don't let up

By The Associated Press

Heavy rains across south Arkansas forced closure of several highways and roads covered by high water Tuesday, officials said.

Arkansas 7 was closed north of Camden where it was flooded by the nearby Ouachita River, said Carl Bachelor, district engineer at Camden for the state Highway and Transportation Department.

U.S. 79 between Stephens in Ouachita County and McNeil in Columbia County also was closed temporarily, Bachelor said.

The National Weather Service reported an estimated 4 inches of rain had fallen at Arkadelphia, where some roads were under water. The agency’s radar Web site showed more than 4 inches of rain also had fallen in part of Dallas County.

Countywide flooding, with several county roads closed, also was reported in Drew County, according to the weather service.

“It needs to stop raining,” Bachelor said. “We’ll be a lot better off when it does.”

Miller County authorities said there also had been flooding in Texarkana, where floodwaters had entered some homes. Some streets and underpasses also were flooded.

The weather service reported flooding on U.S. 167 and 278 in Hampton in Calhoun County, where Champagnolle Creek was out of its banks in some places.

In Little Rock, water pooled in places on Interstate 630. Flash flood warnings or watches were in effect for south and central Arkansas.

The forecast called for rain to continue until midnight, after which the state was expected to see occasional thunderstorms. The weather service said as much as 6 inches of rain could fall in some parts of south Arkansas.

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