AAC
COVER STORY
Arkansas counties cr to process of levee ove “An historic flood calls for an historic response.” — Gov. Asa Hutchinson Story by Arik cruz AAC Law Clerk
S
pring in Arkansas is generally seen as a season of rebirth. Days begin to last longer, vegetation begins to grow, and temperatures begin to rise. Perhaps even more noteworthy, however, are the plentiful rains that begin to fall, bringing with them hopes of a bountiful harvest in later months. But this year, these canonical April showers brought something far more perilous than May flowers. Indeed, these springtime rains brought a devastating 500-year flood to the state that began in late May and persisted into mid-June, with its ramifications still felt many months later. This unprecedented flooding event shattered crest records on rivers across Arkansas. For example, the Arkansas River at Morrilton (Conway County) saw a record crest of 43.03 feet on June 6, 2019, exceeding the prior record set during the Great Flood of 1927 by roughly a foot. Dardanelle (Yell County) witnessed the river crest at 45.91 feet on May 30, 2019, exceeding by more than a foot and a half the record set in May of 1943. Record crests were also recorded in such locations as Van Buren (Crawford County), Toad Suck (Faulkner and Perry Counties), and Pendleton (Desha County), and the highest crests in recent years were seen in other towns and cities along the Arkansas River. >>>
