Showers strike as rivers recede

LITTLE ROCK — Rain continued to fall across parts of Arkansas and the South on Monday, and emergency officials are closely watching the ebb and flow of already swollen rivers.

So far, the seemingly endless days of rain aren’t causing any new flooding problems for the state, said Tabitha Clarke, a hydrologist with the National Weather Service office in North Little Rock.

“It’s really just the same ones that were already experiencing problems,” Clarke said of the rivers.

In fact, life in some parts of the South are reverting to normal: Many evacuees in Louisiana are returning home, people in Mississippi are inspecting damaged houses, and some folks in Arkansas are applying for federal disaster assistance.

Others are simply feeling relief.

“Everybody’s breathing a lot easier,” said Desha County Judge Mark McElroy, adding that the Mississippi River had dropped a couple of feet since it crested in Arkansas City last week at 52.6 feet.

“We feel pretty comfortable right now. As the river recedes, there’s less pressure on the levees.

“We’re just hoping for dry weather.”

But that likely won’t happen for a few more days.

The National Weather Service is calling for rain through at least the end of today, and possibly longer because of a stalled weather front over the Plains. As much as 1 to 3 inches of rain could fall north of the front.

The rain will come in addition to what the state already saw over the weekend - 3 to 4 inches in some areas of Arkansas.

The showers have caused the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to release water from several lakes in the White River basin, which has been battling flooding for weeks.

Commercial shipping between the Arkansas and Mississippi rivers resumed Monday, The Associated Press reported, after the Corps reopened a lock that had been closed for more than two weeks.

Rising water levels that forced the Engineers to close Lock Number 2 on May 6 had receded enough to reopen it, said Laurie Driver, a spokesman for the Corps’ Little Rock district.

By Wednesday, the stalled front is expected to gain momentum and thunderstorms will become more widespread, according to the weather service.

People living in the northern and western parts of Arkansas already saw some severe weather Monday.

Sharp County Emergency Management Coordinator Gene Moore told The Associated Press that high winds blew the roof off a health-food store and may have damaged a home. Moore also said there reports of downed trees and power lines.

In nearby Fulton County, Jane Ivey of the emergency management office said there have been preliminary reports of possible damage to some homes and downed trees.

Tornado warnings were issued for both counties, but there has been no confirmation that a tornado touched down.

Pocahontas residents seeking assistance from the Federal Emergency Management Agency disaster center were briefly delayed Monday,when the weather service issued a tornado warning there.

Kay Atkins of Pocahontas was among about 50 people who waited in line Monday to begin applying for federal assistance for flood damage to her home caused by the Black River. More than 2 1/2 feet of water entered her home on Marr Street.

“We lost everything,” she said. “We had to pull up the carpet and tear down the Sheetrock.”

Peter Thielemeir said water poured into his Pocahontas home’s basement last month.

“It got everything we didn’t put up,” he said.

In Louisiana, St. Landry Parish on Monday lifted a mandatory evacuation that drove hundreds of residents from their homes after the Corps opened the Morganza Floodway, diverting the swollen Mississippi River’s flood waters into the Atchafalaya River.

Parish President Don Menard said recent changes in the forecasts indicate that backwater from the rising water won’t cause extensive damage there.

“I’m standing by my decision,” he said. “We certainly didn’t want any loss of life. We just wanted to be sure everyone would be safe and sound.”

Farther down the Atchafalaya River, a mandatory evacuation order for Butte LaRose is to take effect today at noon.

Meanwhile in Mississippi, Tunica County spokesman Larry Liddell said the water receded enough Monday for county inspectors to check some houses in the Cutoff community to see whether they are structurally sound.

But there was still a long way to go before the same would happen in Yazoo County, Sheriff Thomas Vaughan said. The Mississippi River crested at Yazoo City on Monday.

“We’ve got to wait for the Mississippi to go down so the Yazoo River can go down so the backwaters can go down,” Vaughan said, adding that at least 75 homes and thousands of acres of crops are under water.

Information for this article was contributed by Kenneth Heard of the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette and by Jeannie Nuss of The Associated Press.

Road closings The list below shows Arkansas roads closed because of high water or washouts as of Monday afternoon. Up-to-date listings can be found under “fl ood information” at www.arkansashighways.com Road Location ARKANSAS COUNTY Ark. 1 Bridge at the Arkansas/Monroe county line Ark. 17 Mile 9.89 to 14 at Ethel BENTON COUNTY Ark. 264 Section 1 east of Bethel Heights CARROLL COUNTY Ark. 187 Section 0A at Beaver CROSS COUNTY Ark. 163 Two miles south of U.S. 64 at mile 0.15 near Levesque INDEPENDENCE COUNTY Ark. 37 Ark. 122 to Jackson Co.

JACKSON COUNTY Ark. 14 Section 11A west of Newport Ark. 18 Section 1 from junction of 18 spur to Poinsett Co.

Ark. 37 Mile 5.5 to 6.48 near Grubbs Ark. 37 Ark. 18 to U.S. 67 Ark. 37 Mile 0 to 7.96 near Tuckerman LEE COUNTY Ark. 78 Mile 0 to 4.3 near Aubrey Ark. 121 Mile 7.5 at Marianna Ark. 243 West of Ark. 121 near Rondo Ark. 259 Mile 0.7 near Moro MISSISSIPPI COUNTY Ark. 118 Mile 0 to 2.75 at Joiner Ark. 120 Between Tuckertown and O’Donnell Bend Ark. 198 From the Mississippi River levee to the end of state maintenance MONROE COUNTY Ark. 1 Bridge at Arkansas/Monroe county line to Marvell Ark. 17 South of Holly Grove Ark. 146 Mile 0 to 9.6 near Lawrenceville Ark. 146 Mile 0 to 9.86 near Holly Grove PHILLIPS COUNTY Ark. 85 Between U.S. 49 and Ark. 44 Ark. 146 Mile 0 to 5.35 Ark. 318 Between Ark. 85 and Ark. 44 Ark. 318 Ark. 316 to Ark. 20 POINSETT COUNTY Ark. 373 Ark. 14 to Ark. 163 ST. FRANCIS COUNTY Ark. 50 Mile 0.5 north of Madison Ark. 50 Mile 1.0 SOURCE: Arkansas Highway and Transportation Department Arkansas Democrat-Gazette