Five Arkansas coutnies added to emergency declaration; four additional bodies found after Texas flooding.
LITTLE ROCK—Gov. Asa Hutchinson added five counties to an emergency declaration Friday after a helicopter tour of areas hard-hit by floods.
Arkansas has suffered through tornadoes, severe thunderstorms and high water through May, including a twister that killed a young couple at Nashville. Hutchinson had previously declared 22 counties as disaster areas and added Crawford, Faulkner, Lafayette, Logan and Miller counties because of still-rising water.
“These five counties represent counties that continue to suffer damage and loss because of the flooding,” the governor said.
The Storm Prediction Center issued a tornado watch for western Arkansas and adjoining parts of Missouri and Oklahoma until 7 p.m. Friday. Local forecasters said heavy rain could fall overnight and Saturday.
The Arkansas Highway and Transportation Department closed U.S. 71 north of Texarkana because water inundated the highway near its Red River crossing. It directed travelers to cross at Hope, 30 miles east. A shorter detour via Fulton and McNab was suitable for passenger cars but not large trucks, spokesman Danny Straessle said.
The highway department closed Arkansas 41 upriver from Texarkana earlier this week because the Red River is swollen. Its detour to Hope was 55 miles long.
“Little River County, I know you have had a couple of highways that have been closed because of flooding. And I want everyone to be assured that we are paying close attention to this, providing state support as needed,” Hutchinson said. “Right now, the local responders are doing a terrific job in helping to protect lives and property during this time of concern here in the state.”
The southwestern Arkansas roads will be closed until the water recedes and engineers can assess whether the highways are safe for motorists. Straessle said if the Red River continues to rise at Fulton, it might be necessary to close a part of Interstate 30, a major road linking Memphis, Tennessee, to Dallas, and divert traffic onto two-lane U.S. 67.
Heavy rains last week forced road crews to close the Pig Trail Scenic Byway north of Cass in northwestern Arkansas. The road is impassable because of a hill slide and large cracks that have formed in the northbound and southbound lanes. The highway department hasn’t set a timetable for repairs.
The city of Little Rock closed some hiking and biking paths as the Arkansas River neared a crest, saying water was nearly 3 feet deep across some parts of the River Trail, and turned to what would be scare tactics for some: “This also raises the chances for snakes mobilizing to higher ground.”