YELL COUNTY, Ark. — Yell County Judge Jeff Gilkey said they recorded more than seven inches of rain Thursday night, which has impacted towns like Danville.
Emergency crews made at least six swift water rescues overnight.
Crews spent much of Friday patching up and repairing as many roads as possible.
"We've had a lot of bridges that have been damaged [and] a lot of roadways have water on them," Gilkey said.
Southern and western parts of Yell County are among the areas most impacted by the severe weather.
"As we surveyed the damage, we decided we might want to look towards maybe declaring a disaster," Gilkey said. "Then about 10 a.m. we made a verbal declaration."
He also told us crews will be returning Monday, to inspect roads that can't be accessed right now.
The crews will also be assessing damage to see how to use disaster funds approved by Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders on Friday.
Rescue efforts were collaborative overnight Thursday and into Friday morning as several volunteer organizations pitched in to help.
"Those guys were up all night," Gilkey said. "We had our emergency operations center open and they were just coordinating rescue events."
The floodwaters are certainly a nuisance for the Danville community, but Gilkey is grateful matters aren't worse.
According to Gilkey, at least one home was damaged. He expects the water to begin subsiding by at least Saturday. He said at least one home was damaged.