Flood kills at least 16
Dozens missing after torrent rips through campsites at dawn
CADDO GAP, Ark. – Floodwaters that rose as swiftly as 8 feet an hour tore through a campground packed with vacationing families early Friday, carrying away tents and overturning RVs as campers slept. At least 16 people were killed, and dozens more missing and feared dead.
Heavy rains caused the normally quiet Caddo and Little Missouri rivers to climb out of their banks during the night. Around dawn, floodwaters barreled into the Albert Pike Recreation Area, a 54-unit campground in the Ouachita National Forest where cars were wrapped around trees and children’s clothing was scattered across campsites.
The raging torrent poured through the remote valley with such force that it peeled asphalt off roads and bark off trees. Cabins dotting the riverbanks were severely damaged. Mobile homes lay on their sides.
At least two dozen people were hospitalized. Authorities rescued dozens of others before suspending their search at nightfall Friday. The effort would resume at daybreak today, said Arkansas State Police spokesman Bill Sadler.
A call center set up for people to report loved ones who may be missing received inquiries about 73 people Friday, said Arkansas Department of Emergency Management spokesman Chad Stover.
“We haven’t confirmed if they were at the campsite, but people have called because they believe a loved one may have been there and they can’t locate them,” Stover said late Friday. “As we begin search and rescue operations tomorrow morning, it will give us a better idea of how many people we may be looking for.
Campground visitors are required to sign a log as they take a site, but the registry was carried away by the floodwaters.
Marc and Stacy McNeil, of Marshall, Texas, survived by pulling their pickup truck between two trees and standing in the bed in waist-deep water.
“It was just like a boat tied to a tree,” Marc McNeil said, describing how the truck bobbed up and down.
Forecasters had warned of the approaching danger during the night, but campers could easily have missed those advisories because the area is isolated, with spotty cell phone service and no sirens.