Arkansas emergency managers tour flood damage
"Water has never went down the road like that before," said Lincoln resident, Gary Chadwell.
Chadwell Should know. He’s lived here 55 years. The recent flood swept away the dirt road leading to his house. He pointed out how high the water got on May 5.
"If your down there in that creek bedm that’s got to be 6 feet high," said Chadwell.
Members from the Arkansas Department of Emergency Management are taking notes and snapping pictures.
"What they’re doing is damage assessment," said LaTresha Woodruff with ADEM. "They are going around and looking at different bridges and roads that were affected or washed out during the storm that struck May 5th."
The damage has forced many rural Washington County residents to find other way ways to get around.
"It’s going to be a multi-week event out here, trying to put all these roads back together and make sure we get them back like before the rain came down," said Randy Peoples, assistant superintendent with the Washington County roads department.
What ADEM sees here will provide the information needed for Gov. Asa Hutchinson to decide whether to declare a state of emergency. If that happens, the state will help pay for repairs. Many who live along these rural routes aren’t concerned who pays for it, as long as they can once again drive on it.
"This is the worst event I have seen as far as flood damage since I have worked for the county," said Peoples.