Benton Co. Judge declares emergency disaster declaration for April 28-29 severe weather
Due to the severity and broad damage of the weather event, Benton County Judge Barry Moehring signed an Emergency Disaster Declaration on May 5. Author: 5NEWS Web Staff Updated: 6:47 PM CDT May 6, 2021
BENTON COUNTY, ARKANSAS, Ark. Benton County Judge Barry Moehring has signed an emergency disaster declaration following last week s devastating flash flooding.
The declaration allows Benton County and affected cities to request assistance from the Arkansas Department of Emergency Management (ADEM) for uninsured public sector damages attributed to the storm and repair structures to pre-disaster conditions.
There is an estimated $5 million in damages across the county and surrounding cities. Lowell alone suffered $2.5 million to their roads and infrastructures. Benton County bridges and road damages totaled nearly $1 million.
Arkansas Department of Emergency Management personnel were in Crawford County assessing the damage Tuesday. There s no telling how long it s going to take, because there are so many trees down, shingles blown off roofs, things like that, said Crawford County Emergency Management Director Brad Thomas.
Just under 15,000 OG&E customers were still without power in the Fort Smith region on both sides of the Arkansas-Oklahoma border by 6 p.m. Tuesday as crews worked to reconnect customers.At its peak, there were about 31,000 OG&E customers with power outages.
Van Buren and Fort Smith school districts pivoted to virtual learning Tuesday due to power outages at several of their campuses. Alma Public Schools were not in session Tuesday due to roadways blocked and no electricity.
Fort Smith Times Record
Officials estimate Crawford County took on at least $1 million in flood damage from torrential downpours this week.
Every low-water bridge in the county was underwater at some point Thursday as tributaries to the Arkansas River swelled from around 2.5 inches of rain in the region Wednesday night. The floodwaters also washed away all gravel installed with FEMA grants following the 2019 river flood.
The preliminary damage estimate was taken before county officials discovered damage to Ash Drive and Lancaster bridges in the Mountainburg area. These bridges will be closed indefinitely.
County Emergency Management Director Brad Thomas is fairly confident they ll meet or exceed the $240,000 damage threshold to receive assistance from the Arkansas Department of Emergency Management (ADEM). An assessor with that agency will be in the county Thursday.
Gov. Asa Hutchinson speaking to reporters during Tuesday s press briefing.
Credit Governor s Office / YouTube
Arkansas hospitals continue struggling to handle a growing number of people needing treatment for COVID-19. On Tuesday the state reported 27 additional hospitalizations, pushing the total to another record high of 1,323.
There were also 36 more deaths for a total of 3,836. The Department of Health reported 27 of the deaths were confirmed to be from the disease caused by the coronavirus, while nine were probable deaths. There were also 4,107 new cases of people testing positive for the virus, while the number of active cases rose by 1,351 to a new record of 24,408.
Funeral home âoverwhelmedâ with COVID deaths
âWhat is happening in Northeast Arkansas is overwhelming.â A Northeast Arkansas funeral home is calling for patience as it works âthrough this cloud of darkness.â (Source: Pablo) By Region 8 Newsdesk | December 17, 2020 at 7:43 AM CST - Updated December 17 at 12:41 PM
PARAGOULD, Ark. (KAIT) - A Northeast Arkansas funeral home is calling for patience as it works âthrough this cloud of darkness.â
The owners of Mitchell Funeral Home, 2307 West Kingshighway in Paragould, said in a 3 a.m. social media post Wednesday that their staff was on its third COVID-related call of the night. A Northeast Arkansas funeral home is calling for patience as it works âthrough this cloud of darkness.â (Source: Mitchell Funeral Home via Facebook)