Residents of Saline County begin cleanup after Beryl’s flash flooding

Benton, Arkansas – After the county experienced flash flooding that affected drivers, houses, and apartment occupants, many Saline County residents are cleaning up.

In certain areas of Arkansas, Beryl delivered strong winds and a lot of rain. According to Stuart Duke, the director of emergency management for Saline County, the flash flooding was brought on by heavy rain.

“Approximately 30 roads had issues,” Duke said. “We had some calls in the county that required some evacuations.”

Although most of the floodwaters have subsided, Duke stated on Tuesday that workers are still evaluating the area. He claimed that approximately ten evacuations took place at the Revive Benton Apartments, but no injuries have been reported.

The water entering the apartment got “worse and worse,” according to Jasper Wolcott, a resident of the building.

“It was coming in through the front door, it was coming in from underneath the walls, in every single room,” Wolcott said.

According to Wolcott, they decided to exit the flat through the window rather than open the front door in order to prevent further water from rushing in when it started to come in.

“The water was literally rushing past here (the front door and parking lot),” Wolcott said. “We had to go towards the flow because if we had gone against it, it probably would have swept us away.”

When Tanisha Lews’ flat began to fill with water, she said she took cover.

“It was like a little river in here,” Lews said.

Kevin Belt lives in a house a short distance from the apartment building with his family. He claimed that the storm’s intensity caused their entire house to flood and toppled portions of their fence.

“We had about six inches of water in our garage, and it pushed under the door into the walls,” Belt said.

Belt stated that his family is now cleaning the house.

“We had to get the mud up off the floor, get the carpets out, the beds out so get the living place as clean as possible,” Belt said.

The apartment complex’s residents claimed they are trying their hardest to clean up and salvage what they can.

Duke stated that as of Tuesday, no injuries had been recorded; however, individuals should get in touch with the county emergency management office if they have any damage to report.