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Saturday, June 12, 2010

Flash Floods Kill At Least 16 In Western Arkansas

Tragic.

Flash floods swept through a campground by the Caddo River in Glenwood, Arkansas on Friday leaving at least 16 dead and dozens missing while campers ran for high ground and lashed themselves to trees to stop from being carried away in the waters.

As many as 300 people, including families with vehicles and off-road backpackers, may have been camping along the Caddo and Little Missouri Rivers as waters surged by 20 feet between midnight and dawn, according to Red Cross and state emergency officials.

Terrified families tried to outrace the churning, swiftly rising water, some fleeing up hillsides as tents vanished, recreational vehicles flipped over and rental cabins were demolished.

By afternoon, 16 bodies had been recovered and dozens more people were still missing, said Chad Stover, a public affairs officer of the Arkansas Department of Emergency Management.


More at NYT.

Keep these people and their families in your thoughts and prayers.

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