ST. FRANCIS COUNTY, AR - The rain's been relentless all month around the Mid-South. Rising floodwaters have homeowners on edge.
Tammy Springhart can't see her yard anymore. It’s covered in at least a foot of water.
"We'll probably need our pontoon boat to get out," she said.
She wasn't surprised to see the water.
"We knew we were in trouble because it was already starting to back up yesterday,” Springhart said. “I woke up during the night and heard it raining heavily, and we knew we were in trouble."
She's not the only one. The Pattersons live along Highway 70 in Crittenden County. They watch floodwaters work their way up their neighbors' yards and pray they aren't next.
"They're probably going to flood if it keeps on,” James Patterson said. “They usually do. I've waded through water knee-deep in both houses."
Tammy Springhart says her soaked situation should've been prevented. Her family's been after the county to clear out the drains for some time.
"When the ditch backs up there, it all backs up here,” she said. “The beavers build dams here, and they have to clean that out. It's a muddy mess, and it's inconvenient."
On the roadways, drivers are forced to navigate their way through flooded streets and tricky traffic messes.
"The interstate's were pretty blocked, and they were a little flooded,” said Terry Slater of Memphis. “I just kind of took it easy and just got up off the gas."
The rain is also swamping road construction projects. Arkansas engineers say the I-40 project in West Memphis is way behind schedule because of the weather. They say they usually expect to get 15 to 20 good working days in October. This year, they only had 4. If November is anything like October, engineers say it'll be Spring of 2011 before the project is wrapped up. Crews in West Memphis have been able to work only 15 days in the last two months because of all the wet weather.
Still, some folks are taking the torrential rains in stride.
"You gotta have the rain just like you gotta have sunshine,” said Kevin Cowans of Memphis. “So it is what it is."
