Arkansas Flood Evacuees Return Home

FORREST CITY, Ark. - "They didn't force us down it was our choice, because we couldn't get out so we left," says St. Francis County resident, Connie Winfrey.

Connie Winfrey is just one of the residents on County Road 226 outside Forrest City that was rescued by emergency crews last Friday when heavy rains caused her to be trapped in her home. She didn't know what she would be coming home to.

Louise Farr didn't want to leave her home but emergency crews warned her things could get worse if the rain continued.

"They said if they had to come back in here again they were going to have to get me out in a boat, I knew I didn't want that to happen," says Farr.

Both women were relieved when they returned Saturday to see not only the water gone, but their homes untouched.

"I was worried about the water getting inside the house, if it got in the house it would have done damage," says Farr.

But they are both still concerned about the build up in the local ditches which they believe caused the flooding to be worse than it should have.

"The water, it overflows the ditches, they're not cleaned out like they should be," says Winfrey.

Saint Francis County Judge Gary Hughes says they actually just cleaned the main ditch in May which prevented the flooding from being even worse, but it could only handle so much water.

"There was just so much rainfall in a short period of time, we received over 7 inches we estimated in a short time, it was just more rainfall then what the ditches could hold," says Hughes.

But Hughes says they're constantly digging more ditches and will continue to prevent the flooding from happening again.