PANGBURN — Heavy rain broke a pond's levee in Pangburn on Wednesday, causing the water to flow through a field, across a gravel road and through residential yards until it spilled into the Little Red River.
The breakage occurred at roughly 4 a.m., leaving at least two residential yards with standing water. In one of them, the water reached the porch but did not get into the house, residents and authorities said.
No one was evacuated, and the homes were not damaged.
Pangburn is a small town in White County and is about 12 miles southeast of Heber Springs.
Pangburn Mayor David Wilson said the river is not at a dangerous level, so it's a good thing that the pond waters drained into the river.
Read Thursday's Arkansas Democrat-Gazette for full details.
EARLIER:
An embankment collapse caused a mudslide in a residential area near the Little Red River in north-central Arkansas on Wednesday morning, officials said.
Five houses are said to have been affected in the area of Dripping Springs Road and Landing Drive in Pangburn, according to Dan Noble, a spokesman for the Arkansas Department of Emergency Management.
Noble had initially said that as many as 10 homes in the area were affected after a riverbank collapsed. Officials on scene said later it appeared a bank of nearby body of water collapsed, sending a muddy flow through the residential area and into the river.
No one was reported hurt, and the extent of damage was not immediately known. The collapse was reported before 8:30 a.m.
"It's just a mess," Noble said, adding that trees were downed and roads were "messed up" because of the collapse.
The state's Emergency Management Department had said earlier that homes were evacuated but later noted that it was not immediately clear whether residents were told to leave.
As of Wednesday morning, the Little Red River at points to the north and south of Pangburn was not reported to be in flood stage, according to the National Weather Service.
The river was expected to reach flood stage by Thursday in Judsonia, which is about 20 miles south and east of Pangburn, forecasters said.
More than 5 inches of rain has fallen in Pangburn over the past week, according to precipitation estimates, and Wednesday’s forecast calls for more showers.