Flooding widespread as Pine Bluff sees 5 inches of rain

More than 5 inches of rain late Saturday led to flooding in streets and some city buildings in Pine Bluff and stranded numerous people in their cars or homes, authorities said.

Arkansas Department of Emergency Management spokesman Dan Noble said a coordinator in the area reported widespread flash flooding in the city at 8 p.m.

Noble said Pine Bluff Fire Station No. 1 had about 3 feet of floodwaters in it, and water swept into the ground floor of City Hall. Noble said no injuries or evacuations had been reported as of 9 p.m.

Meteorologist Dylan Cooper with the National Weather Service reported that 5-6 inches of rain had fallen in the Pine Bluff area, mostly from 5-9 p.m.

The rain was caused by residual tropical moisture and a slow-moving front, not by Tropical Depression Gordon, which by Saturday evening was well north of Pine Bluff, Cooper said.

Cooper said that when 6 inches of rain falls in an urban area, the concrete and asphalt lead to runoff that can quickly fill storm drains.

Though much of the heavy rain had ended by Saturday evening, Cooper said another front could produce scattered thunderstorms in the Pine Bluff area this morning and early afternoon.

The National Weather Service website put the chance of rain at 40 percent.

An on-call officer with the Pine Bluff Police Department said the situation in the city was severe Saturday evening. He said multiple streets were blocked off and that several cars had been stranded by the rushing water.

A Jefferson County dispatcher said the Pine Bluff Fire Department had been called out to assist in multiple rescues from flooded homes.

Emergency management employee Winston Rogers said no major flooding was reported in other parts of Arkansas as of 8:30 p.m. Saturday.

No deaths were reported in Arkansas.

Metro on 09/09/2018

Upcoming Events