18 dead after flash flooding washes away Arkansas campground

[Brent]

Many more missing

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/37644073/ns/us_news-life/

Emergency worker said family members reported that three dozen or more people were still unaccounted for. Search-and-rescue efforts were under way.

Brigette Williams, spokeswoman for the American Red Cross in Little Rock, said that between 200 and 300 people were believed to be in the area at the time of the flooding. She did not know how many of those were campers and how many were local residents.

Tabitha Clarke, a hydrologist with the National Weather Service office in North Little Rock, said the water rose quickly between 1:30 a.m. and 5:30 a.m. A river gauge at Langley, just south of the Camp Albert Pike area, had a peak reading of 23.39 feet — up from 3 feet deep at midnight.

Between 2:45 a.m. and 3:45 a.m., the river rose 8.08 feet and continued to rise, according to data from the U.S. Geological Survey, which monitors the gauge.

[somethingfunny]

I was afraid something like this might happen as the rainmaker made its trek across Texas and Arkansas.

One of these could have saved many lives last night:



Some estimates are that up to 300 people could have been camping or living in the river valley, which means this could rival the tragedy at Colorado's Big Thompson Canyon in 1976. I'm praying for survivors.

[vbhoutex]

This is tragic!!! Currently live on TWC it says 16 confirmed dead with 36+ missing. Lots of prayers headed that way!

edit: Now up to 20 confirmed dead.

[Aquawind]

I agree somethingfunny.. I would have no problem if they made the radios mandatory in state and private parks.. Heck they can offer to rent them(cheap) to the campers. Would have saved alot of lives.. This kind of tragedy seems to happen all to often.

[Brent]

20 dead now.

CADDO GAP, Ark. – Floodwaters that rose as swiftly as 8 feet an hour rushed into a remote Arkansas valley early Friday, killing at least 20 people, many of them campers who became trapped by a devastating wall of water. Dozens more were 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 through the Albert Pike Recreation Area, a 54-unit campground in the Ouachita National Forest that was packed with vacationing families who were probably still asleep when their tents began to fill with water.

Two dozen people were hospitalized. Authorities rescued 60 others.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/us_arkansas_flooding

[southerngale]

This is terribly sad. I agree about the weather alert. You'd think somebody would have had one and could have alerted others.

Prayers for the victims' families and the missing... hope they find them alive!

[Aquawind]

It sounds like a reasonable proposal to install more public warning horns in State Parks at least and I could see making for profit parks to require them installed.. Maybe not in every location but anything associated with a drainage basin to start with.

[Brent]

This is terribly sad. I agree about the weather alert. You'd think somebody would have had one and could have alerted others.

Prayers for the victims' families and the missing... hope they find them alive!

Yeah, the lack of NWR's has been a big thing here with regards to tornadoes in the middle of the night, but flooding is even more deadly as this shows. They definitely need to have more of them.

[texascanetracker]

You guys are right, this is a terrible tragedy. I have camped in the area since the late 60's when I was very young. Every summer in June and August I would go up to the Little Missouri/Lake Greeson area with my grandparents and many times there have been huge diluges while we were camping. Last May there was a record flood on the Little Missouri river and the camp ground just south of Albert Pike and Langley (Star of the West)was totally under water. I called a friend today who lives in the area , he said it was the worst flooding he has seen in 21 years. He said it started raining hard around 6:30 then rained all night. Lake Greeson has risen 10 feet today as the dam cannot be opened yet because of the amount of rain down stream and he reported a survivor found floating in the river near Daisy Arkansas.
Weather radios are a must when camping in the area as the Pike County Sheriffs & Park Rangers cannot get the word out to everyone when flash floods strike!

[Aquawind]

U.S. parks warning system to be reviewed, official says

The warning system intended to notify campers on federal land about potentially devastating weather will be re-examined in Arkansas and throughout the nation, the U.S. Agriculture Secretary said Saturday.

GOOD IDEA!!!???!!!

http://www.cnn.com/2010/US/06/12/arkans ... tml?hpt=T1

[Brent]

Only 2 bodies found today, 2 dozen more missing, no survivors found since yesterday morning.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/us_arkansas_flooding

[Stephanie]

U.S. parks warning system to be reviewed, official says

The warning system intended to notify campers on federal land about potentially devastating weather will be re-examined in Arkansas and throughout the nation, the U.S. Agriculture Secretary said Saturday.

GOOD IDEA!!!???!!!

http://www.cnn.com/2010/US/06/12/arkans ... tml?hpt=T1

I think it's a good idea.

If that park area is known to flood, it should have a system in place. Furthermore, the people that camp there regularly should have had a system that would've alerted them.

Very tragic and my prayers go out to the victims and their families.