TEXARKANA, Ark. - Heavy rain Wednesday morning resulted in flash flooding and forced an evacuation of residents at Sterling Crest Apartments on East Broad Street.
Between 30 to 40 residents of Sterling Crest Apartments, most of them elderly, were evacuated, said Miller County Office of Emergency Management Director Joe Bennett.
Parts of Texarkana, Arkansas, received about 7.24 inches of rain Wednesday, according to the National Weather Service in Shreveport, Louisiana. Other areas of Texarkana received about 4 inches.
Both Texarkana, Arkansas, and Texarkana, Texas, Firefighters, along with Texarkana, Arkansas, Police and the Miller County Office of Emergency Management evacuated the residents starting about 9:30 a.m.
Sterling Crest is located at 915 East Broad and houses mainly senior citizens. It is near Nix creek which experienced "extreme" flooding, according to officials.
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The Candlelighters of Central Arkansas promote awareness of childhood cancer and provide assistance to their families. Patrons gathered to enjoy art and cocktails at the annual Gallery of Hope gala at the Peabody Hotel. Entertainment included auctions and live music by the Rodney Block Jazz Project.
"This is an extremely low area and there have been evacuations here before," Bennett said.
There was at least three feet of water in some of the apartments, Bennett said. Many residents were caught in their nightclothes when the water started rising early Wednesday.
No one was injured but LifeNet responded to check on residents with medical issues, Bennett said.
The Red Cross and Salvation Army are also helping the residents.
"We've delivered about 22 people to area shelters," Bennett said. Lifehouse Church on East Street and Cornerstone Baptist Church are also helping the residents, he said.
The flash flood warning, which included Miller and Little River counties in Southwest Arkansas and Bowie County in Northeast Texas, was later extended to 3 p.m.
The rainfall total broke the former Aug. 12 daily rainfall record of 2.20 inches set back in 1966, according to NWS.
Texarkana, Arkansas, also set a new daily rainfall record for all of August, breaking the former record of 4.46 inches set on Aug. 31, 2001.
Texarkana Arkansas Public Works Director Tyler Richards posted on Facebook early Wednesday that the City was "working full force to mitigate damages."
There was also several inches of water at Arkansas Boulevard and Jefferson Avenue that was making it hard for people to drive. Several vehicles hydroplaned on State Line Avenue and the dog park on Jefferson Avenue was also under several inches of water.
Many people were concerned about the Texarkana Arkansas Animal Care and Adoption Center being under water, but officials posted on the center's Facebook page that all animals and staff were safe from the rising waters.
In Texarkana, Texas, flooding was widespread in low areas. Texarkana, Texas, Police Spokesman Shawn Vaughn said between 6:30 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. TTPD and TAPD collectively answered 90 flooding related calls, which included stalled vehicles, vehicle accidents, flooding in homes and welfare checks.
The Ben Lomond community in southern Sevier County received 7.92 inches of rain according to the NWS. Dierks, Arkansas, in southern Howard County, reported 7.59 inches and Nashville, Arkansas, reported 5.12 inches.