Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders declared Marion and Searcy counties disaster areas as a result of the flooding that hit the area in July.
"On July 17, 2024, severe storms and flooding occurred in Arkansas and caused dangers, hardships, and suffering throughout the state," Sanders stated in the executive order she signed Wednesday.
The first-term Republican governor made the disaster declaration under the Arkansas Emergency Services Act of 1973.
Marion and Searcy were among several counties that saw damage to infrastructure from heavy rain that hit much of central and north Arkansas in July, according to the Arkansas Division of Emergency Management.
In Marion County, flooding swept away 14 feet of a 100-foot bridge and damaged the county's courthouse and annex buildings, Melissa Pen, director of the Office of Emergency Management in Marion County told the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette in July.
In Yellville, a nursing home was forced to evacuate more than 80 people due to the floodwaters. Additionally, another 40 or so residents in Flippin had to be evacuated and taken to a FEMA shelter.
In Searcy County, Arkansas Highway 74 east of Marshall was flooded with several roads in the northeastern part of the county being washed out, according to the National Weather Service in North Little Rock. The National Weather Service also reported that rain totals reached more than 10 inches in northern Arkansas during the flooding.
Information for this article was contributed by Remington Miller, Amir Mahmoud and Charlie Brandom of the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette.
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