Chris Murphy
Staff Writer
As the Spring River crested Wednesday after rising more than 15 feet in two days sweeping homes, propane tanks, canoes, pieces of road and other items downstream, Hardy Director of Public Safety Ernie Rose knew the area residents were lucky despite their losses.
“I wouldn’t change anything because no one was hurt,” he said.
Sharp County Judge Larry Brown declared the county a disaster area Wednesday morning.
On March 20, Gov. Mike Beebe declared 26 counties disaster areas due to the recent flooding. Those counties include Baxter, Benton, Boone, Carroll, Clay, Crawford, Franklin, Fulton, Greene, Hot Spring, Independence, Izard, Jackson, Johnson, Lawrence, Logan, Madison, Marion, Nevada, Newton, Randolph, Scott, Searcy, Sharp, Stone and Washington counties.
Hardy Mayor Nina Thornton said 112 homes were effected by the flood. Approximately 55 to 60 homes were seriously damaged. Two were completely destroyed and swept down the river.
There was just one rescue required in town. Two residents were taken out of their home, but went back inside and became trapped by the rising flood waters, Rose said. Hardy Fire and Rescue used a boat to rescue the couple from their home just before dark. The department also assisted Mammoth Spring in rescuing three people from an area near Saddler Falls, he said.
Hydrologist Steve Bays with the National Weather Service in Little Rock notified Thornton Monday of the storm moving into the area and the anticipated heavy rains. Thornton learned that the storm could bring five to seven inches of rain.
“I just had a feeling this was going to be really bad,” she said. “When he called me we immediately jumped into action.”
Thornton and other city employees began calling residents along the river, including those in Riverbend, informing them of the news to allow them time to gather their belongings and get out before the flood came.
The next day Rose began evacuating properties along the river.
“On Tuesday we just went down and told them they had to go,” Thornton said, adding that approximately 300 people were forced to evacuate. “I kept telling them it was going to be worse than in ‘06. When I did that, they understood because it was still fresh in their minds. Everyone cooperated, and everyone got out.”
As the waterways throughout the county rose, Sharp County Road Superintendent Dan Melbourne had his road crews shut the flood gates throughout the county, which prevent traffic from traveling on dangerous low water bridges. All of the gates were closed by 1 p.m. Tuesday afternoon.
According to the National Weather Service in Little Rock, 6.51 inches of rain fell in Hardy March 18-19. Coupled with the rain further north in Mammoth Spring (9.25 inches) and in Missouri, the Spring River traveled out of its banks.
“It came from up above us, Myatt and Warm Fork,” Thornton said.
According to the NWS Web site, by 3 p.m. Tuesday homes were evacuated along the river. At 3:09 p.m. a car was swept off the road at Williford, and the driver was rescued. At 9:14 p.m. that night the water was 2-3 feet over Highway 63 at some places. Downtown Hardy began being evacuated.
The city closed Highway 342 (Riverview Road), Wilburn Brothers Boulevard, Woodland Hills Road, Bobo Lane, Robinhood Lane, Slayton Road and parts of Highway 63 from Hardy toward Imboden.
With Sharp County OEM coordinator Gene Moore out of town for training, Melbourne, the chief deputy coordinator, set up shop at the command post at the Hardy Fire Station.
Melbourne said his assistance wasn’t needed a great deal, Rose already had the situation under control. Melbourne reported the damage as required to Little Rock.
“I did the reporting back to Little Rock, and Ernie did the rest,” he said. “Ernie did a great job. He did a great service by beginning the evacuations Monday afternoon. Everyone was prepared.”
The action stage for the river is 8 feet, flood stage is 10, moderate flood stage is 14 and the major flood stage is 16, according to the NWS. The river crested just before 7 a.m. at 22.29 feet Wednesday.
In the September 2006 flood, the river crested on Sept. 24 at 16.75 feet. There is no record of the stage of the Spring River in Hardy during the 1982 flood, but Rose said some have told him it crested in Hardy at 31 feet.
Downstream at Imboden, the river crested Wednesday at 29.15 feet. On Sept. 24, 2006, the river crested at 26.46 feet. On Dec. 3, 1982, it crested at 38.12 feet.
Rose said the flood monitoring system at the Wilburn Brothers bridge was extremely helpful during the flood.
“It helped us because we could determine how fast the water was going. It told us the water level, how fast the river was rising and let us know who we needed to notify if it kept rising like it was,” he said
The station was operational in 2006 – but only reported its information every few hours. Soon after the flood, the National Weather Service and the U.S. Geological Survey had the station upgraded to report more often. City officials and residents can even call the station to see the current level of the river.
“It was so nice,” Rose said. “It would be great if we had it at Myatt and up at Mammoth Spring.”
Rose said he thinks the 2006 flood caused the river to rise the fastest he’s ever seen. In 1982, he was in Colorado when the flood occurred.
The river used to flood yearly which kept many property owners from keeping a lot of items on the river, especially after the 1982 flood, Rose said. As years passed by with little flooding, people brought more belongings to the river.
Rose said the 2006 flood saw more campers floating downstream, but this flood brought it’s fair share of debris. He said he thinks it is that debris that caused the extensive damage.
Mayor Thornton said the city suffered approximately $2 million in damage to city property from the recent flood, including a section of Wilburn Brothers Boulevard which had large pieces of pavement swept off the road’s surface.
About $1 million is from the playground and walking trail at Loberg Park and the damages to the ballfield at Buford Beach.
The asphalt walking trail at the park was swept off the ground in some places. Some of the pieces were found downstream at Buford Beach.
At the city’s Hardy Camper Park, the office was swept away along with many brand new picnic tables in the park area.
When the river crested, eight inches of water had made its way into City Hall located next to White Oak Station on Woodland Hills Road.
Luckily, the city had thought ahead. Employees and volunteer firefighters moved out much of the city equipment including computers before the flood water made its way into the city building. Many other items that remained were moved three feet higher to avoid the water.
Church of the Wilderness on Woodland Hills Road suffered extensive damage along with Creekside Loft located nearby. Three other businesses also had major damage.
“We’re still finding stuff out on the islands,” Rose said, adding that many 4-wheelers, several camper trailers and even a couple of pickup trucks floated down the river.
Hardy wasn’t the only city to receive damage. Downtown Williford was completely submerged as the flood water from the Spring River made its way over the railroad tracks and onto Main Street. Several homes located nearby were also flooded making them uninhabitable.
Cherokee Village also flooded. In fact, the flooding was so severe in Town Center that gasoline tanks located underground behind Village Sinclair actually floated to the surface and created a gas leak. That leak caused the city to evacuate the town house area near City Hall and block all traffic near the area.
Several roads received substantial damage in the flooding in the Village. One of the most damaged areas was near the North Golf Course where the water caused pavement to sweep off the road.
In addition, the pump house of Cherokee Village Water Association was also flooded with four feet of water. Water got into the motors and the power had to be turned off. Manager Steve Rose put out a message on the radio for users to begin conserving water, but the system still lost pressure because of the usage. The loss in pressure prompted Rose to issue a precautionary boil order for all users of the system. The boil order was lifted over the weekend.
In Ash Flat, the rain, coupled with a bust in a 12 inch main caused by a lightening strike, caused the city to issue a boil order. It, too, has been lifted.
Sharp County, as a whole suffered extensive damage, Melbourne said. He estimated that nearly 75 percent of the county’s roads were damaged in the flood. The rushing water swept away material and exposed a few culverts on county roads.
“We’re just trying to take care of the dangerous places and the hazards right now,” he said.
Melbourne said he contributes the increase in damage due to the flooding being more widespread this time around. The Strawberry River didn’t rise nearly as high in 2006.
“We had damage in the south end this time and didn’t in 2006,” he said. “We had damage in Evening Shade, too (this time).”
Melbourne said some of the county’s secondary roads are rough but remain open. As of March 21, there were still a few bridges that remained impassable due to high water. They included Bear Creek Road on the Piney Creek, Griffin Bridge on the South Fork River and Molly Barn Ford and Hewlett Road both on the Strawberry River, which all had the flood gates still locked. In addition, the bridge on Big Creek Road near Ash Flat was also closed. Judge Larry Brown expected those bridges to be opened by the end of the day March 24.
“We’re still assessing some of the damage,” Melbourne said. “We’ve got at least one lane of our roads back open.”
Federal Emergency Management Agency representatives were in Hardy Thursday to see the damage and help the city plan for the future. There were also representatives from Marion Berry’s office and other politicians in the state who pledged to help the area as much as they could with federal and state aid.
Representatives from FEMA and other state and federal agencies were expected in Hardy March 24.
“Everyone looked around and assessed and told me they would help us out whatever they could do,” Thornton said.
The damage assessment is vital in determining the type of aid the area may qualify for, whether state or federal.
The city is keeping track of everything lost and volunteer hours to help with the match required for funding.
The city is now doing business out of the city fire station but still can be reached at the same phone number: 856-3811.
“We’re up and running. We’ve taken over the fire station,” Thornton said.
The City Hall building is located in a flood zone between the Spring River and 40 Island Creek which empties into the river just feet from the city building.
Thornton said she would actually like to move City Hall to avoid further damage in floods that she knows will occur on down the line.
“It’s not if. It’s when,” she said.
Source: Villager Journal Online