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LITTLE ROCK (AP) —Governor Mike Beebe Thursday declared Hot Spring County a state disaster area because of damage caused by heavy rains and flooding that began on March 18.
Beebe declared 25 other counties disaster areas, and his office said more counties would likely be added because of anticipated flooding. Other counties declared disaster areas because of the flooding include Baxter, Benton, Boone, Clay, Crawford, Franklin, Fulton, Greene, Independence, Izard, Jackson, Johnson, Lawrence, Logan, Madison, Marion, Nevada, Newton, Randolph, Scott, Searcy, Sharp, Stone and Washington counties. “You’ve got a lot of stuff submerged,” Beebe spokesman Matt DeCample said. “We have rivers that haven’t crested yet.” He said although a full damage assessment will have to wait until flood waters recede, the state has begun efforts to secure federal aid. David Ratcliffe, HSC Emergency Manager, asked that anyone in the county who experienced a property loss because of the heavy rains contact him through the office of HSC County Judge Bill Scrimshire. “Farmers with fences down from the flooding, farmers who lost livestock to the flooding and anyone in the private sector who has had damage to their home from flooding should give us a call beginning Monday,” Ratcliffe said. Ratcliffe said he will begin to assess reported damage next week. The HSC courthouse is closed today for the observance of Good Friday, but Ratcliffe said he can be reached beginning next week at 332-2261. Scrimshire said the county may not have sustained enough monetary loss to qualify for federal aid. “We want to be ready, though, in case we do qualify,” he said. DeCample noted that the state may have a time advantage in seeking federal aid because the Federal Emergency Management Agency already has an office set up from the Feb. 5 tornadoes. Rain started falling Monday in Arkansas and didn’t stop for about 48 hours. Major rivers in north-central and central Arkansas overran their banks. And while the storms had passed by late Wednesday, more flooding was expected in the days ahead. At the National Weather Service, hydrologist Steve Bays said most of the flooding will end this weekend on the upper reaches of the rivers, while the lower reaches will continue to rise or remain high into the middle of next week. Bays predicted possible flooding for a Pine Bluff subdivision on the Arkansas River in central Arkansas on Friday and in the Pocahontas area on the Black River in northeast Arkansas next week. Homes and business along the White River downstream from Des Arc also can expect flooding, he said. And although the White River levels will start falling next week, parts will remain above flood stage into March or April, primarily affecting farm land, he said. The weather service forecast a 30 percent chance of a quarter inch or less of rain this weekend. But Bays said that was not enough to cause additional flooding problems. Meanwhile, two Arkansans — one in Washington County, the other in Stone County — remained missing Thursday since their vehicles were swept away two days earlier by river water. And the Izard County Sheriff's Department said Arkansas 5 north of the intersection with Arkansas 56 remained closed because of standing water from a flooded White River. Marcia Weaver, who runs the Old Hardy Hotel Antique Mall along the bank of the Spring River in northeast Arkansas, said her business and others on her side of the river were spared. But it was a different story on the south bank. "It's been a huge loss of property all along the river," Weaver said. "As a matter of fact, you could stand there and watch it go by. There were large pieces of furniture, dressers, picnic tables from the parks. I saw a four-wheeler going down."
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