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March 24th 2008: A 60-year-old levee on the Black River, a tributary of the White River, ruptured upstream from Des Arc, Arkansas. Des Arc is the county seat of the northern district of Prairie County, Arkansas.

The 26.5 ft. crest, the highest since 1915, flooded most of the 2 square mile area. This area, as of the 2000 census, reported 1,933 people, 783 households, and 534 families residing in the city.

Many of these families have never seen anything like this. Most of them had to evacuate their homes. Many are still waiting for the flood waters to recede. In some areas, only the tops of houses and light poles are visible.

The Arkansas Highway and Transportation Department was forced to close several roads. Eleven major highways in northeast Arkansas are currently closed. Some for the first time in the state’s history.

Emergency management officials have estimated damage to homes, businesses and infrastructure at $2 million. With the threat of even more significant flooding to due ever-increasing water levels from nearby rivers and tributaries, that cost is expected to increase dramatically.

Arkansas Gov. Mike Beebe has declared 35 of the 75 counties of Arkansas as “disaster areas”.

Ginger Bankston Bailey, head of the Arkansas Crisis Response Team for Arkansas’s VOAD, said:

“Right now we don’t have numbers or even a clear understanding of just how bad it is, but so far, it doesn’t look good,” she said. “However, we’re holding a state-wide conference call to share information. We should have a better picture of where we’ll be needed and what will be needed then.”

Arkansas is just one of several states suffering from severe flooding. Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Kentucky & Mississippi have also experienced mild to severe flooding causing many thousands to be displaced.

Volunteers have begun helping families regain some of what they lost. If you are interested in providing relief efforts to Arkansas or neighboring states, click here.