23 Arkansas counties declared 'primary disaster areas' after recent flooding

Federal disaster declarations have been given for 46 of Arkansas’ 75 counties after recent flooding saturated grounds in the state.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture, after reviewing reports from sites, determined that there were “sufficient production losses” to warrant such a declaration, Gov. Asa Hutchinson said in a statement Friday.

Twenty-three counties have been declared “primary disaster areas" while 23 outlying counties have been labeled as “contiguous disaster areas.”

The primary counties are Boone, Carroll, Clay, Conway, Craighead, Faulkner, Greene, Independence, Jackson, Lawrence, Lonoke, Madison, Mississippi, Monroe, Newton, Perry, Poinsett, Prairie, Pulaski, Randolph, St. Francis, White and Woodruff.

Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue visited Arkansas in early May, shortly after April flooding resulted in an estimated $175 million in agricultural damage, the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette previously reported.

“The secretary saw firsthand the damage our state suffered due to flooding, including the destruction of thousands of acres of cropland,” Hutchinson said.

The declaration will give farmers access to emergency loans that will help them “get back on their feet,” the governor added.

Farm operators in primary and contiguous counties will be eligible for assistance from the federal agency’s Farm Service Agency.

Read Saturday’s Arkansas Democrat-Gazette for full details.

Flooding in Arkansas


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