16 dead in Arkansas flooding
By the CNN Wire Staff
June 11, 2010 -- Updated 2245 GMT (0645 HKT)
<object width="416" height="374" classid="clsid
27CDB6E-AE6D-11cf-96B8-444553540000" id="ep"><param name="allowfullscreen" value="true" /><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always" /><param name="wmode" value="transparent" /><param name="movie" value="http://i.cdn.turner.com/cnn/.element/apps/cvp/3.0/swf/cnn_416x234_embed.swf?context=embed_edition&videoId=us/2010/06/11/bts.ar.campground.flood.kthv" /><param name="bgcolor" value="#000000" /><embed src="http://i.cdn.turner.com/cnn/.element/apps/cvp/3.0/swf/cnn_416x234_embed.swf?context=embed_edition&videoId=us/2010/06/11/bts.ar.campground.flood.kthv" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" bgcolor="#000000" allowfullscreen="true" allowscriptaccess="always" width="416" wmode="transparent" height="374"></embed></object>
<object width="416" height="374" classid="clsid27CDB6E-AE6D-11cf-96B8-444553540000" id="ep"><param name="allowfullscreen" value="true" /><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always" /><param name="wmode" value="transparent" /><param name="movie" value="http://i.cdn.turner.com/cnn/.element/apps/cvp/3.0/swf/cnn_416x234_embed.swf?context=embed&videoId=us/2010/06/11/von.ar.campground.deaths.kark" /><param name="bgcolor" value="#000000" /><embed src="http://i.cdn.turner.com/cnn/.element/apps/cvp/3.0/swf/cnn_416x234_embed.swf?context=embed&videoId=us/2010/06/11/von.ar.campground.deaths.kark" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" bgcolor="#000000" allowfullscreen="true" allowscriptaccess="always" width="416" wmode="transparent" height="374"></embed></object>
(CNN) -- At least 16 people died at a federal campground in Arkansas after heavy rain and flash flooding Friday, and many more could be trapped in the area, state authorities said.
Arkansas Gov. Mike Beebe said there's word from the Red Cross that there could have been as many as 300 people in the rugged Albert Pike campground area, a part of the U.S. Forest Service, in western Arkansas, but he said there is no registration that would show the precise number. Emergency management officials had put the death toll at 20 but revised the figure to 16 later Friday.
Nick Hofert awoke just after 2 a.m. to screams from families, some with children as young as 4, hurrying up a hill toward his cabin, looking for higher ground. He filed them into his home and went back out, trying to find those family members who were separated from the group.
He and others managed to find the missing relatives at an RV site, despite the rising water.
At one point, Hofert thought the group would have to evacuate his cabin and climb farther up the mountain, but the rains finally subsided.
Video: More than a dozen killed in floods
Video: Gov.: Search and rescue mode
Video: 12 killed in Arkansas campground flood
Call center opened
The state has set up a call center to gather information on possible missing persons as a result of this flood. The phone number is 888-683-2336. The call center will be open until 10 p.m. Friday and Saturday and Sunday 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.
"The water was rising faster than I've ever seen," Hofert told CNN's Rick Sanchez. People "were coming from everywhere, like ants running from water."
Bill Sadler, a state police spokesman, said the search is on for people still trapped in the area, a relatively remote and rural region where cell phone service could be spotty.
Arkansas emergency management officials said that 36 people were missing. It wasn't immediately clear whether 30 rescues that authorities said had been carried out involved the same individuals.
"You know, it's never easy to approach one of these things where there are mass casualties," Sadler said. "But what makes it even more difficult is that you're in a very remote area. And you just can't get enough people in there quick enough to begin searching and trying to help."
A U.S. Forest Service spokeswoman said the agency deployed several bulldozers, chainsaws and other equipment to assist in the effort to clear debris.
Video from the scene showed a river coursing through the valley. The floodwaters overturned vehicles, tore up asphalt, downed trees and crushed cabins.
The campground is a secluded area, frequented by generations of families who have stayed at the cabins for decades, said Whitney Bettis, who was relieved to hear that her aunt and uncle survived the overnight flood.
"The way you measure things in Arkansas, I guess, is to the nearest Wal-Mart," Bettis said. The campground "is probably a good 45 minutes to an hour to the nearest, you know, sit-down restaurant or anything like that. It's a very beautiful part of the state.
"I can remember sitting on the edge of the river and playing with tadpoles and catching crawdads. ... I'm seeing the pictures of cabins that I remember from when I was 10 years old. This is really hard to watch."
A spokesman for St. Joseph's Mercy Health System in Hot Springs said five flood victims were in stable condition there.
"The primary mission of the Arkansas State Police, working with local authorities right now, is to get the living out of the area and locate the dead," Sadler said.
He said two helicopters are working to locate and assist in rescuing survivors. Local authorities are providing search volunteers, and a temporary morgue has been set up.
Beebe said the Little Missouri River rose from about 3 feet Thursday night to more than 20 feet early Friday at the campground.
"It was a very rapid flash flood that inundated that area," Beebe said. "It's an unmanned campground in terms of being a campground with all the amenities."
He said rescue crews on foot, in helicopters and in vehicles were combing the area. Law enforcement, National Guard and parks personnel were working on the search-and-rescue efforts.
U.S. Sen. Blanche Lincoln, D-Arkansas, said she's praying for those injured or trapped and praised the first responders at the scene.
"As Arkansans, we have experienced our share of severe weather. Through it all, our citizens remain strong and resilient," she said in a statement.
President Barack Obama instructed the Federal Emergency Management Agency to be in close contact with Arkansas emergency management officials and "to report back concerning any unmet needs."
"When natural disasters strike, our first responders are on the frontlines providing emergency assistance and keeping our communities safe," Obama said in a statement. "Many of them are showing true bravery today and for that I thank them."
Janice McRae, whose property sits adjacent to the campground, said she and her husband woke in the middle of the night to a knock on the door from a cabin owner. The sight of flooding and destruction caught her by surprise.
"It was raining, but we didn't know that there was going to be flooding, because we hadn't had much rain lately," she said. "The ground wasn't wet, wasn't saturated. We weren't worried about it."
McRae said she and her husband immediately found two young boys stranded alone on the roof of a flooded cabin and were able to rescue them.
She described people clutching to trees in pitch darkness as cars floated past them.
The county coroner said he is preparing for more possible deaths.
By the CNN Wire Staff
June 11, 2010 -- Updated 2245 GMT (0645 HKT)
<object width="416" height="374" classid="clsid
27CDB6E-AE6D-11cf-96B8-444553540000" id="ep"><param name="allowfullscreen" value="true" /><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always" /><param name="wmode" value="transparent" /><param name="movie" value="http://i.cdn.turner.com/cnn/.element/apps/cvp/3.0/swf/cnn_416x234_embed.swf?context=embed_edition&videoId=us/2010/06/11/bts.ar.campground.flood.kthv" /><param name="bgcolor" value="#000000" /><embed src="http://i.cdn.turner.com/cnn/.element/apps/cvp/3.0/swf/cnn_416x234_embed.swf?context=embed_edition&videoId=us/2010/06/11/bts.ar.campground.flood.kthv" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" bgcolor="#000000" allowfullscreen="true" allowscriptaccess="always" width="416" wmode="transparent" height="374"></embed></object><object width="416" height="374" classid="clsid
27CDB6E-AE6D-11cf-96B8-444553540000" id="ep"><param name="allowfullscreen" value="true" /><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always" /><param name="wmode" value="transparent" /><param name="movie" value="http://i.cdn.turner.com/cnn/.element/apps/cvp/3.0/swf/cnn_416x234_embed.swf?context=embed&videoId=us/2010/06/11/von.ar.campground.deaths.kark" /><param name="bgcolor" value="#000000" /><embed src="http://i.cdn.turner.com/cnn/.element/apps/cvp/3.0/swf/cnn_416x234_embed.swf?context=embed&videoId=us/2010/06/11/von.ar.campground.deaths.kark" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" bgcolor="#000000" allowfullscreen="true" allowscriptaccess="always" width="416" wmode="transparent" height="374"></embed></object>(CNN) -- At least 16 people died at a federal campground in Arkansas after heavy rain and flash flooding Friday, and many more could be trapped in the area, state authorities said.
Arkansas Gov. Mike Beebe said there's word from the Red Cross that there could have been as many as 300 people in the rugged Albert Pike campground area, a part of the U.S. Forest Service, in western Arkansas, but he said there is no registration that would show the precise number. Emergency management officials had put the death toll at 20 but revised the figure to 16 later Friday.
Nick Hofert awoke just after 2 a.m. to screams from families, some with children as young as 4, hurrying up a hill toward his cabin, looking for higher ground. He filed them into his home and went back out, trying to find those family members who were separated from the group.
He and others managed to find the missing relatives at an RV site, despite the rising water.
At one point, Hofert thought the group would have to evacuate his cabin and climb farther up the mountain, but the rains finally subsided.
Video: More than a dozen killed in floods
Video: Gov.: Search and rescue mode
Video: 12 killed in Arkansas campground flood
Call center opened
The state has set up a call center to gather information on possible missing persons as a result of this flood. The phone number is 888-683-2336. The call center will be open until 10 p.m. Friday and Saturday and Sunday 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.
"The water was rising faster than I've ever seen," Hofert told CNN's Rick Sanchez. People "were coming from everywhere, like ants running from water."
Bill Sadler, a state police spokesman, said the search is on for people still trapped in the area, a relatively remote and rural region where cell phone service could be spotty.
Arkansas emergency management officials said that 36 people were missing. It wasn't immediately clear whether 30 rescues that authorities said had been carried out involved the same individuals.
"You know, it's never easy to approach one of these things where there are mass casualties," Sadler said. "But what makes it even more difficult is that you're in a very remote area. And you just can't get enough people in there quick enough to begin searching and trying to help."
A U.S. Forest Service spokeswoman said the agency deployed several bulldozers, chainsaws and other equipment to assist in the effort to clear debris.
Video from the scene showed a river coursing through the valley. The floodwaters overturned vehicles, tore up asphalt, downed trees and crushed cabins.
The campground is a secluded area, frequented by generations of families who have stayed at the cabins for decades, said Whitney Bettis, who was relieved to hear that her aunt and uncle survived the overnight flood.
"The way you measure things in Arkansas, I guess, is to the nearest Wal-Mart," Bettis said. The campground "is probably a good 45 minutes to an hour to the nearest, you know, sit-down restaurant or anything like that. It's a very beautiful part of the state.
"I can remember sitting on the edge of the river and playing with tadpoles and catching crawdads. ... I'm seeing the pictures of cabins that I remember from when I was 10 years old. This is really hard to watch."
A spokesman for St. Joseph's Mercy Health System in Hot Springs said five flood victims were in stable condition there.
"The primary mission of the Arkansas State Police, working with local authorities right now, is to get the living out of the area and locate the dead," Sadler said.
He said two helicopters are working to locate and assist in rescuing survivors. Local authorities are providing search volunteers, and a temporary morgue has been set up.
Beebe said the Little Missouri River rose from about 3 feet Thursday night to more than 20 feet early Friday at the campground.
"It was a very rapid flash flood that inundated that area," Beebe said. "It's an unmanned campground in terms of being a campground with all the amenities."
He said rescue crews on foot, in helicopters and in vehicles were combing the area. Law enforcement, National Guard and parks personnel were working on the search-and-rescue efforts.
U.S. Sen. Blanche Lincoln, D-Arkansas, said she's praying for those injured or trapped and praised the first responders at the scene.
"As Arkansans, we have experienced our share of severe weather. Through it all, our citizens remain strong and resilient," she said in a statement.
President Barack Obama instructed the Federal Emergency Management Agency to be in close contact with Arkansas emergency management officials and "to report back concerning any unmet needs."
"When natural disasters strike, our first responders are on the frontlines providing emergency assistance and keeping our communities safe," Obama said in a statement. "Many of them are showing true bravery today and for that I thank them."
Janice McRae, whose property sits adjacent to the campground, said she and her husband woke in the middle of the night to a knock on the door from a cabin owner. The sight of flooding and destruction caught her by surprise.
"It was raining, but we didn't know that there was going to be flooding, because we hadn't had much rain lately," she said. "The ground wasn't wet, wasn't saturated. We weren't worried about it."
McRae said she and her husband immediately found two young boys stranded alone on the roof of a flooded cabin and were able to rescue them.
She described people clutching to trees in pitch darkness as cars floated past them.
The county coroner said he is preparing for more possible deaths.
