The Black River in Northeast Arkansas taking in water from the Current River has led to at least six levee breaches bringing historic flooding levels in Northeast Arkansas. Trey Stafford, president and general manager with the Jonesboro Radio Group, says the record level on the Black River at Pocahontas was set in 2011 at 28.5 feet. Tuesday evening, the river reached just below 29 feet leading to the levee breaches.
With the breaches, water is spreading rapidly across farm land in southern Randolph County and central Lawrence County. Beyond the impact to residences and businesses in those counties, Stafford says the next major issue is traffic.
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Stafford says traffic is being rerouted for those traveling north and south.
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Stafford says other routes are also closed.
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Now that the Current River is down, the Black River flowing from Poplar Bluff, Missouri is impacting what had been a stable level at Corning.
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Stafford says Arkansas Highway and Transportation Department engineers have advised Highways 135 and 62 into Corning should be closed by dark on Wednesday.
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