News - National
16 dead, 3 dozen missing in flash flooding
Posted: Jun 11, 2010 2:54 PM by Bea Karnes, News First 5
Updated: Jun 11, 2010 2:53 PM
Heavy rains triggered flash floods along a pair of southwestern Arkansas rivers around dawn Friday, killing at least 16 people trapped in remote valleys after the water rose as rapidly as eight feet in an hour. KARK TV in Little Rock reports that 30 people have already been rescued in Montgomery, Pike and Clark Counties.
An emergency worker said family members reported that three dozen or more people were still unaccounted for. Search-and-rescue efforts were under way.
Floodwaters inundated campgrounds along the normally peaceful Caddo and Little Missouri rivers, swamping hikers and campers sleeping along the rivers' banks. This area of the Ouachita Mountains includes second homes, hunting camps and a number of U.S. Forest Service campgrounds.
Officials are setting up a temporary morgue in a refrigerated truck.
A massive mobilization of rescue workers is underway.
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