In light of the devastating flooding in Texas that has killed at least 109 people as of Tuesday afternoon, a senator from Arkansas stated on Tuesday that she wants a congressional subcommittee to concentrate on emergency planning for floods.
At a meeting of the Game and Fish/State Police subcommittee of the Arkansas Legislative Council, state senator Missy Irvin (R-Mountain View) stated that such a conversation is extremely important right now.
Last weekend, a popular camping location near the Guadalupe River in Texas saw flash floods. According to CBS, the accident claimed the lives of over two dozen children and staff at Camp Mystic, which caters to young girls, as well as its longstanding director and co-owner.
After a storm system camped over the area and dumped a lot of rain, the river rose quickly on Friday morning. The stream gauge near Camp Mystic showed that the river surged more than 25 feet in two hours.
Co-chair of the Arkansas panel Irvin said she was aware that many lawmakers were thinking about the floods in Texas, particularly in light of the Camp Albert Pikeflood that occurred in Arkansas 15 years ago and claimed 20 lives.
“I really want to work with our federal delegation, with our FCC [Federal Communications Commission] commissioner bringing those people in and seeing what we can do to really push the ball forward to make sure that we have good warnings in place,” Irvin stated. “I also want to focus on emergency communication and the lack of cell phone coverage in many areas of the state of Arkansas in future meetings.”
According to Irvin, the county government is a crucial component of the warning and reaction puzzle that needs to be taken into consideration.
In collaboration with the Arkansas Department of Parks, Heritage, and Tourism, Mike Hagar, secretary of the Department of Public Safety, which is in charge of the Division of Emergency Management and the Arkansas State Police, stated that his agency was investigating ways to be more proactive in emergency preparedness.
Unfortunately, the environment in which we all operate and the world in which we live tend to be more reactive and post-event. According to Hagar, we are reactive; as soon as a calamity occurs, we allocate resources to attempt to lessen it as much as possible. We must, of course, perform better. It is said that if something is predictable, it may be avoided.
As a 501c(3) public charity, Arkansas Advocate is a member of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network backed by grants and a coalition of donors. The editorial independence of Arkansas Advocate is maintained. For inquiries, send an email to [email protected] to reach Editor Sonny Albarado.
Partner Content by Arkansas Advocate
It’s dragon-slaying time!
The Arkansas Times, which relentlessly defends the fundamental rights and liberties in our community, stands as a light of truth in an era when critical voices are being silenced more and more. Our commitment to provide uncompromising journalism has never been more important, especially with Arkansas in the center of a broad culture war that is impacting our libraries, schools, and public conversation. We can’t accomplish our goals of defeating dragons and holding those in positions of authority responsible alone. You can guarantee that independent journalism in Arkansas not only endures but flourishes by making a contribution today. We can join the fight and make a difference together.
