Water still rising in eastern Arkansas
Officials begin to assess damage; nearly half of state declared disaster
Floodwaters surround this home Wednesday near Clarendon, Ark., where the White River was still rising.
Flooding from a major storm swallows up roads and houses, and sends people fleeing to shelters.
SAND HILL, Ark. - Despite sunny skies, water continued to rise Wednesday in eastern Arkansas, where federal officials have begun to gather their first damage assessments in the week-long floods that have displaced residents and soaked homes and businesses in nearly half the state.
The White River is higher than it has been in a quarter-century, flooding properties and farmland in east-central Arkansas. Much of a national wildlife refuge near Clarendon was inundated Wednesday, and residents in that town and elsewhere in Monroe County were sandbagging their homes and pumping out water from their basements.
The river is expected to crest early Friday at Clarendon at 6½ feet above flood stage. It was only a few inches below that Wednesday morning.
