CLINTON, Ark. (KTHV) - Severe storms Sunday, Aug. 19, caused extensive flood damage in Clinton and other parts of Van Buren County.
The sheriff's office says rescue teams had to help two families evacuate their homes along Boar Road and Old Hwy 65. Roads have washed out on Old Highway 9 in Choctaw, just south of the city.
“It got too deep too fast,” said Tammy Venable. Venable
had to be rescued from her home as the water rushed off the hills and out of nearby creeks during the summer storms.
“The little creek that runs through our kiddie park, It came up fast,” said Clinton Mayor Richard McCormac. “It’s probably the worst I’ve seen it since 1982.”
That year, Clinton suffered a 100-year flood with eight feet of water in the historic downtown, causing extensive damage.
The Cash Savers supermarket flooded when the creek, about 50 yards from the back door, pushed debris and water into the store, leaving employees with an early morning of mopping before they could get started stocking shelves.
“It started out with a house fire being struck by lightning,” said D.L. Webb, the chief of the Clinton Fire and Rescue Department. The storms left Webb powering through Monday on just one hour's sleep. “We had several departments out trying to put that out and then, well the bottom just fell out.”
The National Weather Service said the line of thunderstorms dumped 5.02" of rain on Clinton over a six-hour period Sunday. The complex prompted tornado warnings as well as they swept across north-central Arkansas.
In Choctaw, the rushing water pushed the home of Josh and Amanda Miley off its blocks.
“We thought it had died down when the tornado warning stopped,” Josh Miley said. “Then I started hearing this popping sound. We were watching one of those ghost catching shows and I thought my son was playing games. Then I went to the door and I thought it was hail. Then I saw the house wasn’t attached to the porch.”
Rescuers managed to get the Miley Family out of the house and save more than a dozen bird dogs kenneled in the backyard as part of Josh’s training business.
Next door, Venable was still having trouble processing the scene after water came high enough to topple a propane tank and get reach a foot off the floor of her home.
“I haven't got any sleep. I'm just still just in shock,” she said as friends helped to reassure her and restore her faith. “I go to Main Line Full Gospel in Bee Branch and they will help, and my family, they live in Benton. I'm sure they'll come up and help.”
Chief Webb says the area avoided any serious injuries.
“We can always put fences back up and put culverts back together and put a little asphalt and concrete in so we're grateful for that,” said Mayor McCormac.