Arkansas River breaches levee

The Arkansas River breached a levee early Friday, prompting a flash flood warning after nearby Holla Bend, Ark., was evacuated the day before. Hundreds of people were in temporary shelters on Thursday along the swollen river as crews went door to door encouraging people to evacuate ahead of the breach. Other levees in the state appeared to be holding up under historic flood levels, according to Col. Bob Dixon of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. “My concern is, they are designed for a temporary load and they are holding a lot more water than they have been tested on before,” he said.

More than 500 homes and thousands of acres of farmland have been affected by the flooding, according to Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson. Significant flooding was expected in the Little Rock area, where the river is projected to crest next week at 29 feet, 6 feet above flood stage. Nearly 1,000 homes have flooded across the Oklahoma border in Muskogee County, according to local emergency management officials.

Officials in St. Louis, along the Mississippi River, and southern Illinois were also preparing for more flooding.