Flooding in Southwest Arkansas from Wednesday's rain caused extensive road damage throughout Little River County, Ark., and put the brakes on construction of a bridge spanning the Little River.
For Texas, the National Weather Service in Shreveport, La., has issued a flood warning for the Red River near DeKalb until late afternoon today. Minor flooding is forecast, with the flood stage at 24 feet. The stage Wednesday was 22.4 feet.
Little River County Judge Mike Cranford expects a large repair bill for his county.
"It's premature, but the repairs could cost $30,000 to $50,000," County Judge Mike Cranford said. "It's probably not going to be big enough to declare a disaster and get assistance. At least no one was injured."
On Thursday, the closed county roads were 1, 13, 18, 38, 40, 55, 63, 75 and 129, though "this is changing hour by hour as weather conditions improve throughout the county," Cranford said.
"Winthrop was literally an island Wednesday. The roads leading into Winthrop were closed."
Cranford said Arkansas Department of Transportation is working to ensure the roads are safe for motorists. He said the website IDriveArkansas.com provides the latest road conditions.
Work on the Arkansas Highway 41 bridge near the border of Little River and Sevier counties is being put on hold because of Little River's rising, said Sevier County Judge Greg Ray. The river is supposed to crest at 26 feet; flood stage is 27 feet, Ray said.
However, Sevier County appeared to escape major rain-related damage.
"We skated without too many problems. We had a few trees to go down. We didn't get as much rain as Little River County," Ray said.
In Miller County, County Judge Roy John McNatt said the heavy rain felled a few trees but no flooding was reported.
"We've been checking the 900 miles of roads, and we didn't get that much water," McNatt said.
"We're looking all the time and people are good to call, and the mail carriers call us to let us know about problems."
The weather service also issued a precautionary statement regarding flood areas.
"Do not drive vehicles through flooded waterways. Use caution when walking near flooded riverbanks. Do not try to wade or swim in flooded rivers and bayous," the statement said.