Rescue Crews Assist Residents Affected by South Arkansas Flooding

Emergency responders assisted people impacted by flash flooding in El Dorado, Arkansas, on Sunday, July 3, video shows.

The National Weather Service recorded up to ten inches of rain in the region, with flash flooding reported in several areas.

The El Dorado Police Department warned residents to avoid driving in several streets in the city, with some roads considered “impassable.”

Video streamed to Facebook by El Dorado resident James Carroll shows homes and vehicles affected by the flooding. Credit: James Carroll via Storyful

Video Transcript

JAMES CARROLL: I know church is important to me, y'all, but driving with your headlights almost going under water is just not-- it's not safe, you know? El Dorado, Arkansas. I don't know exactly what date it is, but it's Sunday. And it's after July 1, so it's either July 1 or 2.

It's currently around 11:00 in the morning. Again, a nice flooding event that's happened at the end of my road, the corner of 19th and Tanglewood. See the firefighters who recently pulled a lady from that car back there trying to wade back.

Yep. I've already seen three cars get totaled tonight-- today, and possibly four, because you can see there's-- I don't know if you can see this, but there is a car underwater over there. But yep, there's your fire department. What are you gonna do?

It looks like they may be in distress. The light is flashing. I don't know if you can see this, but there is a car on a slight incline over the road. And you can see where it's at.

He's not even at the deepest part here. El Dorado, Arkansas. It's Sunday. That's something, ain't it?

Ladies and gentlemen, that's the car, and it's almost fully submerged. And I just got hit by the wake of one of them. Gentlemen. [AUDIO OUT] It was some lady who decided she wanted to ignore the warnings and now she's stuck. Fire department wading through waist deep water to try to get to her.

Whoever owns Especially For You, by the way, your store may be dry but it's going to be-- it's probably going to have a wet carpet. I'm not wading through this stuff, by the way. I'm walking on the high part.

All right. Give you an example how deep it is, that car is floating. There's a hood of a car that's on the hill. And here, the firefighters, the brave El Dorado Fire Department wading through water.

I personally saw this person trying to brave it. That was a stupid decision, by the way. Don't know if y'all can see this, but yeah. 19th Street, don't go on it.

I knew this was going to happen, that's the reason why I stayed where I stood. But in other news, there are people that are wanting to go home and are trying to figure out how to cross the rapids. And I do believe that house is officially flooded and/or will be flooded.

And believe it or not, ladies and gentlemen, that's not the deepest part. Deepest part's over there by that sign. In fact, there's a wonderful firefighter wading through. As far as, this video, they're some of the news people.

Now, it looks like they're going to the house that's right there in the blue because they were flashing the lights like there was an emergency there. But I think they may just be scared because of the water. Historically, the water hadn't gone up that far above the-- but I don't think that house usually floods that much.

This one I know is under a-- I think a 100-year flood warning, a 100-year flood zone. But again, this is the reason why I was sitting in the front trying to tell you people, hey, let's not run in the water. I had to jump somebody off who had decided he was going to get in the water.

And he said, oh, I just need a jump. And I tried to jump him off. I think he now believes me when I told him that this engine's locked.

I can't see what y'all are commenting. I'm not really good at this Facebook thing. I kind of avoided it like the Black Plague for the last couple of years, or the last year or so. So just simply I may be answering y'all's questions regarding--

Anyway, the firefighters definitely didn't plan to take a bath this early in the morning, I'll tell you that. And this is why this pretend rent-a-cop was sitting at the road saying, hey, you may not want to go past me. All right, there was a car that earlier, before he got this bad, decided it was going to try to run down 19th and-- or [INAUDIBLE] down 19th, but run down Tanglewood and turn on 19th.

Well, they had kids, I think jumped out of the car and successfully pushed their car up to a neighbor's house. But then people are going to have an expensive, expensive bill. Again, this is on 19th Street in El Dorado, Arkansas halfway down in front of Home Depot. [INAUDIBLE] that, Home Depot.

And you have these nice firefighters going to help people who don't take flashing lights and waving seriously. And decide they want to really decide to swim with their vehicle this morning. I've already seen three motors end up being ruined.

So stay home if you can avoid it. If you can, I should say. Avoid this weather. And again, whoever is-- or Especially For You, the water did come up here, especially every time some truck or card decided they wanted to try to make it across.

Every wave came crashing against this building. So again, you may have some nice, wonderful wet carpet in the morning. Hey, I actually see a-- what am I saying? Sorry, I'm jerking the camera so much. I'm kind of cold.

Hey, Justin, bud, I hadn't heard from you in forever, bud. But yeah, I'll be careful. Oh geez, look at that guy over there. It's kind of awesome these phones are waterproof these days.

Here, look at this. Sad. Let me get a-- wipe down my screens a little bit. I'll tell you one thing. El Dorado may have a lot of bad things going on, but their fire department is still top notch.

When I had my house fire a few years ago, these people were there within a matter of, like, split seconds. And instead of watching my house burn like they could have done, they actually busted down my door and ran into the fire and actually put it out, which saved me so much money in the long term, because if my house would have been burned down, I wouldn't have known what I had in-- heard those in warning. Oh, sorry.

I don't know whose relative this is, but-- and hopefully not violating their privacy, but then again, if you know this person, I think she may be a little bit traumatized. Because of-- I didn't realize it was an older person, but her car, she started down from 19th going towards Northwest Avenue, and it just started floating on her. I mean, it went from the left side to the right side of the road and everything.

But again, El Dorado Fire Department.

[PHONE RINGING]

I don't know who it is, but I'm calling. If you're calling me right now, I'll call you back. Hey, man.

- How's it going over here? I think they pulled my mom and them out right quick.

JAMES CARROLL: Oh, man.

- My mom and them over there.

JAMES CARROLL: You don't live over here, do you?

- Hmm?

JAMES CARROLL: You don't live over here, do you?

- My mom and them do.

JAMES CARROLL: Oh.

- I'm trying to see if maybe they can get them out because she's sick.

JAMES CARROLL: Oh, that's--

- She can't really walk. [INAUDIBLE].

JAMES CARROLL: I saw them flashing their lights and their porch lights and I didn't know what was going on.

- She kept calling me, she said I need you to come get us. I need you to come get us. It's raining in the house, the cars are covered up in water. And I'm like, where you at? She said, I'm at home. It's raining. Mom and them, we can't get out.

JAMES CARROLL: Oh, man.

- And I'm like, what the hell?

JAMES CARROLL: She was flashing her lights. If I had known that, I'd have run up there to her, but.

- Well, I jumped up and just, hey, Mom, there they go right there, and she come out. That is crazy.

JAMES CARROLL: I was just talking about the El Dorado Fire Department. And of everything that we have around here, at least the fire department's really good.

- [INAUDIBLE]

JAMES CARROLL: This is wild man.

- This is something I never [INAUDIBLE] my life.

JAMES CARROLL: Yep. Well, it gets bad over here, but I've never seen it this bad.

- I've never-- I never believe we've got anywhere near anything like this.

JAMES CARROLL: Yeah, this is a flood zone. But like I said, I've been here for, like, five years now and never seen it this bad.

- My goodness. Mama [INAUDIBLE].

JAMES CARROLL: All right, ladies and gentlemen, I'm going to go dark. Y'all have a good one.