Flooding causes Arkansas district to cancel school

Trumann flooding
Trumann flooding
Updated: Feb. 11, 2019 at 5:11 PM CST
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TRUMANN, AR (WMC) - Severe flooding has caused an Arkansas school district to cancel classes.

Students in the Trumann School District left school early on Monday and will be out of school on Tuesday due to flooding.

Students were sent home with packets of work to be completed while school is out.

Many roads in the area are covered with water.

Teachers sent students home with packets of work, so they can continue their studies and the day would be counted by the state as an instructional one.

Superintendent Myra Graham said this is the first time flooding closed schools in her eight years in that position.

“As parents saw some of the city streets filled up with water in the flooding they are aware so I think some of them were thinking they may not make it through this whole day,” Graham said.

This rain has also caused issues in other parts of the state.

Many of the roads in the area remain flooded. Some areas were expected to see up to four inches of rain within six hours.

“It's just unbelievable, all this water everywhere,” said parent Krystal Brown.

By lunchtime Monday, water swallowed front yards in Trumann, Arkansas. Days of on and off rain flooded some city streets.

Ditches along others were near capacity, with water soon to spill into roadways.

Flooding and an old sewer system for the district caused Monday's early release from school.

“I was just shocked,” Brown said. “I was like I don't understand it, and I had to call the school and make sure she was, she was for real.”

Preparations for the district to make this call began Sunday night.

“I got to school this morning and realize that some of the buses had high water in the side ditches and it was going to creep onto the roadway,” Graham said. “When we got to school as well we noticed some of the toilets at the campus were gurgling.”

Flash flooding in Jonesboro opened up a sinkhole eight feet deep and 10 feet wide.

High waters across northeast Arkansas counties closed several other roads as high waters made them impassable.

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