FEMA surveys area flood damage

By JOE MAY | The Southern Standard

Representatives of the Federal Emergency Management Agency were in Clark County, Arkansas in recent days to meet with local officials concerning damage from the April 4-5, 2025 flooding that washed out roads and bridges throughout South Arkansas.

Tate Chanler, director of the county’s Office of Emergency Management, said that federal officials had denied state claims for the March 14 storms that swept through the county, damaging homes in the Joan area and knocking down power lines belonging to the South Central Arkansas Electric Cooperative.

“By the time it hit us, it was barely an EF-1,” Chanler said. “We just made the filing at the request of the cooperative to help them.”

Right now, he said, FEMA will report back on the damage to see if federal officials will issue disaster funds to help local government recoup funds spent cleaning up after the floods.

In the flooding, the county lost eight bridges and numerous roads and other spans sustained damage. Damage was also reported to levees and some Arkadelphia sewer lines. Chanler said officials do not yet have a dollar amount on the damage, which will be repaired regardless of whether federal funds are received.

“We are looking at a significant amount of money,” he said.