WATER, WATER EVERYWHERE AND NO PLACE TO GO

By Ray King/OF THE COMMERCIAL STAFF

Flooding was reported at various points throughout Pine Bluff and Jefferson County on Wednesday and the National Weather Service said more water is on the way.

“We’ve got issues all over the place,” Wally Hunt, coordinator of the county Office of Emergency Management, said Wednesday morning.

Just over 2 inches of rain were recorded at the OEM office on East Barraque Street since midnight Tuesday, and Hunt said some areas in the northern part of the county, especially around Tucker, got more.

“Very early this (Wednesday) morning, the National Weather Service issued a flash flood warning for the Tucker area but that has since expired,” he said.

Rain was expected to continue through tonight with an estimated half-inch to 1 inch expected.

Water was reported over the road on Ty Lane off Arkansas 54 and Lowman Road in the Sulphur Springs and Watson Chapel areas where Hunt said some residents and volunteer firefighters were using sandbags to try to stem the flow of water and protect several mobile homes.

“I was out east of town toward the paper mill this morning and I saw water over some of the roads where there wasn’t water during the last event,” Hunt said Wednesday morning.

“The problem is that when we get so much water in a short period of time, especially with the ground as saturated as it is, there’s no place for the water to go so it backs up in the ditches, then into the streets,” he said.

In Pine Bluff on Wednesday morning, police were busy directing traffic at several locations, including in front of Southeast Junior High School on Ohio Street.

“The parking lot was flooded and people couldn’t get in to drop off their kids, so we had a couple of officers out there trying to keep the traffic moving,” Lt. Bob Rawlinson said.

High water was also reported at W.T. Cheney Elementary School on Ridgway Road, Dixon Lane off Middle Warren Road, 46th Avenue and Main Street, and 27th Avenue, between Olive and Elm streets.

Even though several areas reported problems with high water, Hunt said there was some good news, especially for residents in the Island Harbor area who were forced out of their homes several weeks ago when the Arkansas River overflowed its banks.

“We’re not in bad shape as far as the river is concerned,” he said. “The weather service is projecting it to crest at 39.7 feet early (this) morning, and that’s more than two feet below flood stage, which is 42 feet.”