NPR

'It's Never Done This': Arkansas River Keeps Flooding, Testing Levees And Patience

The Arkansas River is rising well above its previous record, and it's forecast to stay that way for days. That's putting pressure on old levees, and making it hard for some residents to evacuate.
John and Louise Hutchins stand in their garage in Fort Smith, Arkansas, behind a homemade sandbag barrier. They chose not to evacuate, in part because they did not think their neighborhood would flood.

The Arkansas River just keeps rising. The usually-placid tributary of the Mississippi has become a bloated torrent water carrying entire trees downstream, drowning riverfront property and halting commerce for hundreds of miles.

Arkansas Governor Asa Hutchinson the high water is costing the state economy an estimated $23 million each day. The river is to crest on Wednesday in Little Rock, Ark., and there is so much water moving downstream that it will likely be more than a week before floodwaters begin to recede from

You’re reading a preview, subscribe to read more.

More from NPR

NPR3 min read
5 Workers Dead, Dozens Still Missing After A Building Collapsed In South Africa
Rescue teams worked searching for dozens of construction workers buried under the rubble after a multi-story apartment complex that was being built collapsed in a coastal city in South Africa.
NPR2 min readInternational Relations
Israeli Forces Take Control Of The Gaza Side Of The Rafah Crossing With Egypt
An Israeli tank brigade seized control Tuesday of the Gaza Strip side of the Rafah border crossing with Egypt, authorities said, as cease-fire negotiations with Hamas remain on a knife's edge.
NPR2 min readDiscrimination & Race Relations
Biden Decries Surge Of Antisemitism Since The October 7 Hamas Attacks On Israel
President Biden spoke out against harassment of Jewish students on college campuses, part of what he called a "ferocious surge of antisemitism" seen since Oct. 7.

Related Books & Audiobooks