GENTRY — After receiving more than 7 inches of rain Saturday in the most recent storms, and that after the ground was already saturated from rains earlier in the week, many areas were flooded and many roads impassable on Saturday.
In the Gentry area on Saturday, traffic was being turned back north of Gentry on Arkansas Highway 59 and east of Gentry on Highways 12 and 264. Roads in low-lying areas along the creeks were marked with police tape as closed and impassable until the waters subsided.
Among those local roads were Dawn Hill and Dawn Hill East Roads, where water flowing south toward Flint Creek flooded the road and some businesses along the way. Water rose up at Marcy's Dog Grooming and began to seep inside, prompting moving animals boarded there over the weekend, but the building was not damaged and things were quickly cleaned up and back to normal once the waters subsided.
A sewer pump station along Arkansas Highway 59 was underwater for a time. The Apple Crest Inn had water flowing up to the building in the backyard, and some homes in Gentry had yards which looked more like lakes.
At the city bridge on Dawn Hill Road, just north of Ozark Adventist Academy, two cars were partially submerged on the north side of the creek and two larger vehicles were stopped on the bridge as the waters of the Flint Creek continued to rise and overflow the surface of the bridge on Saturday afternoon. The two vehicles finally unloaded passengers on the bridge and backed through waters which reached the top of their truck tires, and the occupants, with shoes in hand, carefully waded back to the south side and safety, avoiding trees and debris floating down the muddied and swollen creek.
The fire department had to rescue others who tried to drive through the water on Dawn Hill Road, according to Vester Cripps, Gentry's fire chief. The last of the cars was removed on Monday. The bridge there remains closed until repair work can be completed.
By Sunday, the rains had let up and the water had subsided considerably in most places around Gentry and life returned to normal for most, though some had messes to clean up following the flooding.
Across the county and region, numerous roads were closed due to flooding and much repair work on roads and bridges is anticipated. County officials were still busy assessing damage on Monday.
According to a Monday post on the Facebook page of the Benton County Division of Public Safety, "Benton County Judge Barry Moehring has issued an Emergency Disaster Declaration following this weekend's severe weather and flash flooding. Portions of the county received an estimated 15 inches of rain in areas causing widespread flash flooding and closing 75 percent of roads throughout the county. The disaster declaration will open up the possibility of additional support and possible assistance to the county, cities and our residents as a result of response and damages from the flooding."
General News on 05/03/2017