March 26, 2008 - Clarendon, AR Floods

From what we could tell on the news, Arkansas was getting ready to get hit with some major flooding. At this point I had already been working with a specialized company in Eau Claire, MI, who would design us a specialized hovercraft for water rescues. Hovertechnics agreed to have the boat ready within 24 hours. This special boat has the ability to hover off the ground, allowing us to travel raging rivers, glide safely across iced-over lakes, and patrol and perform rescues in flooded downtown communities reaching those trapped in their homes. Boat ramps aren’t the norm in flooded communities so to compensate for this undeniable challenge the hovercraft will be able to float over asphalt roads, gravel, and grassy fields.

We spent months consulting with some of New York’s best fire chiefs and thanks to Steve Lebretto, Mattituck NY Fire Chief, and Captain Joseph Frohnhoefer, President of Sea Tow International, we were able to strategize on the best unit to perform water rescues in many unknown conditions in the unpredictable disaster zones of the United States.

We seeing reports about a small city in Arkansas called Clarendon and surrounding Monroe County. We arrived in Clarendon to learn that the town geographically is a soup bowl surrounded by raging rivers and lakes with nothing to hold back the “sea of terror” but a dirt wall. In many aspects it reminds me of New Orleans. The small rural town is lower than the surrounding waters but kept dry through engineered levees. But these levees are not as sophisticated as the tall concrete ones I have seen in New Orleans. These are simply dirt. If a small muskrat decided to dig a whole 2 inches big, within 10 minutes the city would be under water.

If you were to look at a map you would find the Cash and White Rivers funneling directly into the city. As I stand on the wall of dirt, below me is this quaint little American town, with schools letting out and kids riding their bikes down Main Street…but behind me is a river that is already 6.4 feet above flood stage. In 1973, a flood destroyed this town when the river rose to 35 feet. Presently the river is at 32.4 feet.

This afternoon the Team and I sat down with County Judge Larry Morris and Allen James, the president of the Levee Board. Judge Larry was openly nervous about what could happen to this community over the next three days as the rivers continued to crest and explained that 6 other housing communities were already under water in the county. Time stood still for just a moment in this old catfish diner. Here I was in this small restaurant, with walls full of pictures of local fishermen proudly displaying their prize catfish, and large glass windows where you could see Main Street folks carrying on with their daily small town lives.

I asked the judge questions for the next 45 minutes and then presented a disaster preparedness plan for the city and county. I explained that we had a dirt bike equipped with GPS and a Satellite phone. We could use the dirt bike to scout the 6.2-mile levy that surrounds the city 24 hours a day. We could alert the police department of any breaches so they could evacuate the community if needed.

I also explained how we could use the hovercraft to monitor the outside of the levy as well as visit all the homes succumbing to the water for possible evacuations.

I also offered the use of an 1800-gallon per minute water and trash pump, which should be positioned so that if the levees were breached we could begin pumping immediately.

Next, we had to address water rescues. Neither the city nor the counties were armed with proper equipment to handle water rescues. The county judge recommended I meet the sheriff, who rerouted 911 water rescue calls to us. Sheriff Barry Henard and Byrl Shaw, the Officer of Emergency Services and a former Lieutenant Colonel in the military, welcomed us and expressed thankfulness for us being here with them through this difficult time.

We toured six housing communities that were under water—thankfully the homes were all empty. We will continue to monitor these communities in case homeowners try to access their flooded property before floodwaters receded. We will also be working with Sheriff Barry to monitor the waterways and patrol for looters trying to burglarize flooded homes.

The atmosphere is full of so many emotions. There has already been great loss in Monroe County but there is also a sense of fear and anxiety in the air. We are here, and we are not going anywhere. My hope is that the six communities that are already under water will be all the loss this county suffers. We will monitor the levees and will be ready to pump the water out if any breaches occur – but it is my hope that’s as far as this disaster will go.