Gov. Mike Beebe says 22 counties across central, northern and western Arkansas were hard-hit by last week's winter storms.
Beebe on Friday declared the counties state disaster areas because of damage caused by the ice and snow.
His office said representatives from the state Department of Emergency Management were already working with federal officials in about a dozen counties. They are attempting to determine whether Arkansas would qualify for federal assistance. If that were to happen, the state would be eligible for help in repairing any damaged infrastructure.
The counties declared disaster areas Friday were Baxter, Crawford, Faulkner, Franklin, Fulton, Independence, Izard, Johnson, Logan, Madison, Marion, Montgomery, Newton, Polk, Pope, Pulaski, Saline, Scott, Sebastian, Sharp, Stone and Van Buren.