The Black River began spilling over a Randolph County levee in east Arkansas on Tuesday afternoon as concerns continued to build over a possible breach.
William Churchill, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service’s office in Memphis, said the river level now stands at 28.61 feet, about an inch above the levee’s height.
While the levee had not been reported breached as of around 3:30 p.m., the threat of an inrush of floodwater prompted a partial evacuation of Pocahontas earlier in the day.
Levees along the Black River, which flows about 300 miles long from southeastern Missouri to northeastern Arkansas, are capable of withstanding about 28 feet of water, officials said.
“Really, it could happen at any time,” Churchill said Tuesday afternoon of a possible levee breach in the southeast portion of Pocahontas.
The Black River is expected to rise an additional 3 feet by Thursday afternoon, according to a river forecast.
As of Tuesday afternoon, flooding in the town of nearly 6,500 residents had reached a number of structures off U.S. 67 as well as the Pocahontas Municipal Airport.
Aerial photographs taken by an Arkansas Democrat-Gazette photographer showed a Wal-Mart, BancorpSouth and a Dollar Tree as being among the businesses affected.
Read Wednesday's Arkansas Democrat-Gazette for full details.
— Brandon Riddle
EARLIER:
After surveying storm damage, Gov. Asa Hutchinson spoke Tuesday from a fire station in a partially evacuated northeastern Arkansas town as a rain-swollen Black River was about to breach the top of a Randolph County levee.
Mayor Kary Story told people in the eastern portion of Pocahontas, which includes an assisted living apartment complex and a college, to leave their homes by 8 a.m. Tuesday due to imminent flooding.
The Black River winds through the eastern part of town and reached record heights after weekend storms dumped 6 to 8 inches of rain in northern Arkansas, the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette previously reported. The storms have already caused at least seven deaths in Arkansas.
Levees along the Black River are reportedly built to withstand about 28 feet of water, said David Jansen, the county judge of Randolph County. Weather experts expect the river will breach that height sometime late Tuesday morning, said Melody Daniel, spokeswoman for the Arkansas Department of Emergency Management.
The river is predicted to crest Thursday, Daniel said.
Tuesday’s breach will bring “potentially life threatening flooding” to the area, the National Weather Service of Memphis said on Twitter around 9 a.m. Water may overtop parts of the levee at any time, the tweet said.
A stretch of land that includes Pocahontas, Walnut Ridge, Hoxie, College City and Black Rock is under a flash flooding warning until 2:45 p.m., officials said. Several roads running north to south that connect those towns have been temporarily closed, Daniel said.
For evacuees in Pocahontas, shelter is available at the old Randolph County nursing home, 1401 Hospital Drive, and at the Community Center, 205 Geneva St., Daniel said. Volunteers are needed at the nursing home shelter to clean and help in the kitchen, according to the city website. The shelter is also requesting twin sheets and pillow cases, blankets, washcloths, towels and toiletries and can be reached at (870) 810-0083.
Daniel did not have an immediate count on how many Pocahontas residents had left their homes and said only part of the town had been evacuated. About 6,500 people live in Pocahontas.
After surveying damage caused by flooding in both Randolph and Sharp counties, Hutchinson addressed community members and reporters at a Tuesday news conference at a Pocahontas fire station.
The governor thanked Story, Arkansas Department of Emergency Management Director A.J. Gary and Sen. Linda Collins-Smith, R-Pocahontas, for their quick action in responding to the weather. The emergency response is still localized, Hutchinson said, but the state will provide support if and when it is needed.
“These are not easy times, but Arkansans are tough and ready to weather these kinds of storms,” Hutchinson told his audience.
The governor said he’s “seen the reality” of the damage five rivers can wreak on a community. He referenced floods the state saw in 2008 and 2011 before saying that Arkansas needs to do some “long-term studies as to how we can take necessary steps to avoid this in the future.”
After listening to a citizen’s complaint, Hutchinson said that sightseers attempting to get glimpses of the damage need to stay home as crews work to protect people’s lives.
Emergency responders have performed more than 40 rescues due to the weekend storms, Gary said at the news conference. The director urged any Pocahontas residents who were advised to evacuate to do so immediately.
Hutchinson also offered a bit of practical safety advice: “When you see a road that has water crossing it, turn around."
— Emma Pettit