At Least 3 Dead, 1 Missing In Arkansas Floods
Governor Plans Disaster Declaration
POSTED: 7:43 am EDT April 25,
2004
UPDATED: 10:13 pm EDT April 25,
2004
FORT SMITH, Ark. -- Gov. Mike Huckabee signed a disaster declaration Sunday for seven Arkansas counties damaged by floods.Meanwhile, the search continued for a 2-year-old Arkansas boy swept away by flooding, and authorities identified two campers killed by the rising waters.
The Oklahoma Highway Patrol said three campers were at a private campground when the waters from Lee Creek near the Oklahoma-Arkansas border swept their travel trailer and pickup truck away about 3:40 p.m. Saturday.Oklahoma Lake Patrol officers searching by air and by boat found Jeremy Coughran, 25, of Nicut, Okla., alive about an hour later. Coughran refused treatment at the scene for minor injuries.The body of another camper, 50-year-old Margaret Borrero, also of Nicut, was found downstream just before 10 p.m. Saturday. The search was then suspended because of nightfall.After resuming the search Sunday, Lake Patrol units recovered the body of the third camper, Newly Jones, 85, of Arkoma, Okla., at 10:10 a.m., the patrol said. It was unclear if the campers were related.The Arkansas boy has been missing since Saturday, when floodwaters swept his mother's pickup truck off a bridge.The body of the boy's 3-year-old sister was found Saturday.
The mother and another child survived.Water covered state highways and other rural roads in many counties as a system moving slowly across the state sent pulse after pulse of storms from southwest to northeast.Meanwhile, flood waters in northern and eastern Oklahoma caused crop damage.In Braman, near the Oklahoma-Kansas stateline, the sun was shining and flood waters were receding after the Chikaskia River crested Saturday evening at 31.63 feet. The water was expected to drop below 29 feet by Sunday evening, according to the National Weather Service.Braman residents spent Sunday surveying the damage. The deluge from last week's storms caused crop damage in the small farm community.Officials said they were still waiting for the Illinois River to crest. The National Weather Service forecast the river to crest near Watts, in Adair County, at 16 feet Sunday evening.Flood waters kept Oklahoma 10 virtually impassable. Several homes were affected, but no one had to be evacuated.The waters of the Neosho River were expected to crest Monday afternoon at 19.6 feet, according to the National Weather Service.Sunday, the river was already at 18.4 feet, nearly 3 feet above flood stage.
![]() ARKANSAS FLOODING |
The mother and another child survived.Water covered state highways and other rural roads in many counties as a system moving slowly across the state sent pulse after pulse of storms from southwest to northeast.Meanwhile, flood waters in northern and eastern Oklahoma caused crop damage.In Braman, near the Oklahoma-Kansas stateline, the sun was shining and flood waters were receding after the Chikaskia River crested Saturday evening at 31.63 feet. The water was expected to drop below 29 feet by Sunday evening, according to the National Weather Service.Braman residents spent Sunday surveying the damage. The deluge from last week's storms caused crop damage in the small farm community.Officials said they were still waiting for the Illinois River to crest. The National Weather Service forecast the river to crest near Watts, in Adair County, at 16 feet Sunday evening.Flood waters kept Oklahoma 10 virtually impassable. Several homes were affected, but no one had to be evacuated.The waters of the Neosho River were expected to crest Monday afternoon at 19.6 feet, according to the National Weather Service.Sunday, the river was already at 18.4 feet, nearly 3 feet above flood stage. Previous Stories:
- April 25, 2004: At Least 2 Dead, 2 Missing In Floodwaters
- April 25, 2004: Child Killed, Another Missing In Floodwaters
- April 22, 2004: Hometown Area Under Thunderstorm Warnings, Watches
- April 22, 2004: Hometown Area Hit By Severe Storms
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