Flood waters soak West Memphis

Heavy rains leave much of county in high water

By Ralph Hardin

ralphhardin@gmail.com

The skies over Crittenden County opened up on New Year’s Day and the rain didn’t stop for nearly three days. By the time the storm clouds moved on, much of the area was covered in water, including many streets and some residences.

West Memphis appeared to have been hit the hardest by scattered flooding. On Tuesday, as students and teachers were preparing to

See FLOOD, page A3

Photos by Jane Russell & Ralph Hardin FLOOD

From page A1

head back for the first day of classes following the Christmas break, school was canceled, as many streets, including near the Academies of West Memphis, were impassable, although that did not stop some motorists from making the attempt. “If you woke up this morning and thought your car or small SUV could swim and then found out real quick that it couldn’t, said Joe Brasfield, “just call B& D Towing and we will come get you and your nonswimming vehicle.”

While city pumps made some headway Wednesday, there were still low-lying intersections and yards with several inches of standing water at the end of the day.

The worst of the flooding took place in the vicinity of the Riverbend Apartments where residents had to be evacuated after knee-high water made it impossible for them to leave in their own vehicles.

In other parts of the county flooding was largely limited to fields and ditches.

Photos by Jane Russell & Ralph Hardin