The State of Arkansas has been heavily impacted by the recent Missouri floods. The waters from Missouri have flowed into Arkansas, resulting in substantial flooding. For days the rain continued filling the Black River, causing levees in several communities to overflow and break. The effects of these events had devastating consequences on the towns of Georgetown, Pocahontas, DesArc, and Bescoe. The Arkansas/Louisiana ACS DR Coordinator, Lavida Whitson, is leading out a team in the operation of small Warehouses that are currently distributing needed items to the local communities.
ACS is partnering with various faith-based organizations such as the Red Cross, LDS, and others that had donated goods to us for previous disasters sitting at a Warehouse ready for use. The International Paper Company donated 1000 boxes to be used for distribution. Payron Elementary, a local public school in Clarksville, also set up a collection center for bleach. By the end of their call they had secured about 200 bottles of bleach which were distributed, along with food and other household supplies.
On Memorial Day, there were approximately 15 volunteers who took their holiday to serve their community. They not only distributed supplies, but also spoke with many survivors that were uncertain about how they would manage through the next day. ACS DR provided some resources, and in areas where we couldn’t help we tried to connect them with other organizations that might offer the assistance needed. “The one thing you quickly realize when working on a Disaster is how many it takes to truly have an impact on a community affected by Disaster. It’s encouraging to see we have such competent, dedicated people working in every community within the Division,” said W. Derrick Lea, NAD ACS DR Director.
