Arkansas Flood Victims

Crews search for victims after Ark. floods kill 18

A preacher whose church has cared for survivors of the flash floods that ripped through an Arkansas campground and killed at least 18 people anguished over what he would tell them Sunday as rescue teams searched for nearly two dozen people.

"You want people to escape for a moment and focus on God, but they're going to return to the reality of what they're here for," Graig Cowart, pastor of the Pilgrim Rest Landmark Missionary Baptist Church, said ahead of his Sunday morning service.

His church has been a sanctuary for survivors and relatives of those who disappeared when a pre-dawn wall of water descended on sleeping campers at Albert Pike Recreation Area on Friday, leaving them frantically trying to scramble up steep terrain in the dark.

...The last time someone was found alive was late Friday morning. Only two bodies were found Saturday as swollen rivers subsided and anguished relatives awaiting word of loved ones grew more and more frustrated, knowing that at some point the search mission would become one of recovery.

"They're just devastated. The time for shock has probably gone and now it's just anxiety building. They're beginning to fear the worst," Cowart said.

Gov. Mike Beebe's office publicly identified 15 of the 18 victims, who include at least six young children. Five of those killed — including three children — were from Gloster, La. Three other victims also were from Louisiana, and six were from Texas.

The only Arkansas victim identified was Leslie Jez, a 23-year-old mother and wife from Foreman whose husband, Adam Jez, was listed among the flood's survivors.

"So ready to go camping this weekend," she wrote on her Facebook page Monday. "Kaden is going to love it!!" She later added: "Not looking foward to that cold water, but sounds like I might change my mind after seeing how hot it's supposed to be."

Authorities haven't said whether the child survived.

Floodwaters rose as swiftly as 8 feet per hour, pouring through the remote valley with such force that they peeled asphalt from roads and bark off trees. Cabins dotting the river banks were severely damaged, and mobile homes lay on their sides.

This is heartbreaking.

"Arkansas campers had only seconds to escape from deadly torrent in remote valley."

Summer is just beginning and already there has been so much weather-related tragedy.

Last week, tornadoes ripped through the Midwest, killing 5.

Yes, it could have been worse. There could have been more loss of life, but that's little comfort to the loved ones of those killed in the storms.

Prayers for the dead, their survivors, and the many volunteers tending to the victims.