3:50 P.M. UPDATE:
Major flooding is expected to continue along lower portions of the White River in Arkansas into next week as floodwaters recede southward, according to the National Weather Service.
At Newport, the river is expected to crest at 33.6 feet overnight, forecasters say. That is 2.3 feet below the record of 35.9 feet set in April 1945 and nearly 8 feet above flood stage.
Areas south along the White River, including August, Georgetown and Des Arc also face major flooding through the weekend and into the latter part of next week.
The river level at Georgetown is expected to be just inches below the record of 32.8 feet set in May 2011. By Tuesday, meteorologists forecast that the level in the area to crest at 32 feet.
About 20 miles to its south in Des Arc, the river is expected to crest at 36.5 feet by Wednesday, which is about 3 feet shy of the record 39.4 feet set in May 2011.
Areas of concern earlier this week along the Black River are “on the way down,” the agency said, noting that flooding is now classified as minor to moderate in cities such as Pocahontas, Corning and Black Rock.
Read Saturday's Arkansas Democrat-Gazette for full details.
— Brandon Riddle
EARLIER STORY:
As water recedes from Randolph and Lawrence counties, forecasters are monitoring towns downstream from the rain-swollen Black River as they experience intense flooding Thursday into Friday morning, leading one sheriff’s office to perform four rescues in two days.
Flood warnings have been issued by the National Weather Service for the stretch of the Black River and the waterways it feeds that pass through Randolph, Lawrence, Clay and Jackson counties as well as specific warnings for the Little Red River at Judsonia, the Cache River near Patterson and the White River at Batesville, among others.
Forecasters are especially keeping tabs on the crest of the lower White River, which is fed by the Black River, around Newport in Jackson County, said Tabitha Clarke with the National Weather Service in North Little Rock.
At that location, the White River has a flood stage of 26 feet, Clarke said. It’s currently at 33.1 feet, so the banks and surrounding area are seeing major flooding.
A cluster of highways have been shut down around Newport and Tuckerman in Jackson County, including Arkansas 14, 69 and 37, according to the state Highway and Transportation Department. Many roadways leading into and out of Pocahontas in Randolph County where the Black River levee breached Wednesday remain shut down.
Along one of the closed highways, emergency responders with the Jackson County sheriff’s office have performed four water rescues within the past two days, according to a Facebook post.
Around 9 a.m Friday, the sheriff's office got a call about a motorist, identified as Duane Henderson, 47, of Mississippi, who had bypassed a barricade on Arkansas 37 at Elgin in a 2013 Nissan Altima, the post said.
The vehicle was submerged in floodwaters, and Henderson was able to escape and swim to safety, the post said. Authorities went by boat to make sure no other occupants were in the car, the post said. Henderson was cited for ignoring the barricade.
Earlier, deputies got a call around 6 a.m. that 48-year-old Jarris Jones from Georgia had went around barricades on the same state highway in his 18-wheeler, which was now submerged in floodwaters.
Officials reached Jones by boat, pulled him out of the flooded tractor-trailer and transported him to safety, the post said. Jones was also cited for ignoring the barricade, authorities said.
On Thursday around 2:40 p.m., deputies responded to another emergency call along the same state highway after getting word a pickup had attempted to haul another truck with a trailer and was then submerged, according to news release.
Officers reached 33-year-old Charles Berko of Georgia and pulled him out of the water, the release said.
Earlier Thursday, authorities had transported a truck driver to safety after his 18-wheeler was swept along the same state highway in Elgin, Arkansas Online reported. Officials pulled 63-year-old Ibrahim Velazquez of Florida out of the water after he bypassed the signs on Arkansas 31, the post said.
“Not only are you putting yourself in danger but you are putting others coming to help in danger as well,” Jackson County Sheriff David Lucas said in a statement after Velazquez's rescue.
Flooding spawned by weekend storms have affected more than 900,000 acres of farmland and done about $64.5 million in crop damage across Arkansas, the Associated Press reported.
Farmers have lost an estimated 156,000 acres of rice, more than 83,000 acres of soybeans, just under 48,000 acres of corn and about 9,300 acres of cotton, according to a report released by the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture.
However, agronomists predict around two-third of the 937,000 affected acres could survive if no more rain falls.
— Emma Pettit