DARDANELLE, Ark. (AP) – The Latest on flooding in the United States (all times
local):10:45 a.m.
Northeastern Oklahoma residents forced from their homes by flooding along the turbulent Arkansas River are making plans to return as the river recedes.
Emergency management officials in Tulsa, Oklahoma, says they are seeking
volunteers wearing boots and heavy leather work gloves to help residents remove debris and clean up their flooded homes.
The National Weather Service said Friday the river’s level at Tulsa has dropped almost 4 feet from Wednesday’s crest and will continue to recede through the weekend. Forecasters say river levels were also dropping in Muskogee, Oklahoma, about 45 miles (72 kilometers) southeast of Tulsa.
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers says a hydroelectric dam at a reservoir
northwest of Tulsa has reduced flow as the reservoir drains floodwaters from recent heavy rainfall, aiding the river’s decline.
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10:25 a.m.
Emergency management officials say it will be days, if not longer, before the full extent of damage is known from the historic flooding now affecting Arkansas’ second-largest city.
The Arkansas River remained steady at about 40.5 feet (12.3 meters) in Fort Smith on Friday. That’s 18 feet (5.5 meters) above flood stage, and many areas remain underwater .
The Federal Emergency Management Agency says it won’t be able to assess damage until the waters recede. The latest forecast from the National Weather Service shows the river at major flood stage through at least next week.
Meanwhile, authorities say a deteriorating levee in nearby Crawford County was holding strong Friday morning.
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9:15 a.m.
President Donald Trump has declared an emergency in Arkansas, which has been hit by historic flooding.
The White House said late Thursday night that Trump approved the emergency
disaster declaration requested by the state, where hundreds of homes and
thousands of acres of farmland have been affected by flooding along the Arkansas River. Trump’s declaration allows the Federal Emergency Management Agency to provide assistance for emergency protective measures in Arkansas, Chicot, Conway, Crawford, Desha, Faulkner, Franklin, Jefferson, Johnson, Lincoln, Logan, Perry, Pope, Pulaski, Sebastian, and Yell counties.
Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson earlier this week had requested the emergency
declaration in response to the flooding.
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6:10 a.m.
Officials say a levee along the Arkansas River has breached, prompting an
evacuation of a rural area in the western part of the state.
The levee breached early Friday at Dardanelle, about 60 miles (95 kilometers) northwest of Little Rock. Yell County officials had anticipated the breach and urged residents in the nearby Holla Bend area to evacuate Thursday.
Little Rock television station KATV reports that water was rushing through the levee Friday.
National Weather Service data showed a dip in the water level at Dardanelle, likely due to the breach. A flash flood warning was issued early Friday for the area, and forecasters said residents should be prepared for rapidly rising water.
The levee breached because of ongoing flooding along the Arkansas River, which began in Oklahoma.
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