Several counties in northern Arkansas were blindsided by intense flash flooding yesterday morning, causing the evacuation of 86 people from a Yellville nursing home. Dozens more Marion County residents have been displaced from their homes, according to the National Weather Service and the Marion County Sheriff’s Office.
The National Weather Service estimated that over 10 inches of rain, possibly more, fell over a 24-hour period in some parts.
Thirty to 40 people in Flippin, Marion County, had to flee their homes and seek shelter, the Marion County Courthouse flooded, and floodwaters wiped out a bridge over Moccasin Creek northwest of the town, according to the National Weather Service.
The amount of rain Flippin got “exceeded what would be expected in a 1 in 1,000 year event,” according to the National Weather Service.
No injuries in the flooding have been reported in Marion County and residents sheltered the storm at a FEMA Shelter in Flippin, the Democrat-Gazette reported yesterday.
While Marion County was perhaps hit the hardest, heavy rainfall affected several other Arkansas counties Wednesday.
Parts of Boone, Baxter, Cleburne, Searcy, and Stone Counties received over six inches of rainfall in the 24-hour period before 7 a.m. Wednesday, with one part of Searcy County receiving at least 8 inches of rain, according to the National Weather Service. Sharp and Faulkner Counties also got at least 4 inches of rain.