Flood in Independence County, Arkansas

Heavy rain produced significant rises on the upper White River and tributaries. The combination of high river flows and the excessive upstream reservoir releases caused a second major flood event at the Batesville gage. Homes and businesses were flooded for a second time in less than month in Batesville and Oil Trough. Additional damages were noted by the Southside Water Association due to excessive scour near the intake. The Batesville wastewater treatment plant also had some minor riverbank failure problems.

There was widespread heavy rain in northern and western Arkansas between the 9th and the 11th of the month. A weather system in Texas dragged a cold front toward the region which produced 24-hour rainfall amounts of 3 to 6 inches by the morning of the 10th and an additional 1 to 3 inches by the morning of the 11th. Flooding was a problem along the Arkansas and White Rivers and tributaries. Releases from Lake Norfork in Baxter County in excess of 86,000 cubic feet per second, combined with high flows from the White River tributaries, produced major flooding again on the White River from Calico Rock to all points downstream. Points on the lower Arkansas River crested higher than in March, due in part to the high stages on the Mississippi River.