DEWITT, Ark. — The City of Dewitt has started cleaning up after heavy rainfall and strong winds impacted most of it on Monday.
Many roads in the area have reopened and are accessible for travel— but it was a much different story for residents overnight.
Matlin London has lived in DeWitt all of her life, but she said that this was her first time seeing such severe weather hit home.
"I've never seen anything like this since I've been in this world. This is the worst I have seen," London described.
She left work early on Monday evening because of the strong storms.
"My boss told me, Ms. Matlin, go home, there's a tornado. I said, huh? I jumped in my car honey and flew home," London said.
Fortunately, no tornadoes were reported to have touched down in Arkansas County, but by the time the sun rose on Tuesday, floodwaters still lingered.
The impacts on the town were clear— garbage cans floated in the aftermath and a few cars were stuck underwater.
However, the vehicles and debris weren't the only things in the water.
"Well, my grandma this morning sent us some pictures of her, and I was like, I was thinking in my head, I want to go see how bad it is," said Dalton Shirley, a resident of DeWitt.
Shirley explained that their yard was underwater, so he walked three miles along with a friend and his fiancé and eventually traveled through the water.
"We just started swimming and having fun," Shirley explained.
The Arkansas County Office of Emergency Management said that at least 40 homes in the city were impacted.
Monday evening proved to be especially long for DeWitt Chief of Police Steven Bobo— he said that several people were rescued from homes and stalled vehicles.
"When you get a car or somebody in the car and starts getting washed to the side because the waters [are] running so hard, you worry about how quick you can get to them," Bobo said.
More than 12 inches of rain fell on Monday evening, forcing officials to close roads— and now, the focus has shifted to cleaning up.
"We're going to have to wait until the water goes down to see just how bad those homes are," Bobo added.
However, no reported injuries came as good news to Bobo.
As for London, her focus has shifted to replacing her furniture ruined by the rainfall.
"My daughter had got up and looked and she said mama, the roof is leaking real bad. I hadn't too long [ago] got the furniture," London explained.
The American Red Cross has now started surveying DeWitt to figure out how bad the damage was.
People in need of assistance have been urged to call 1-800-Red-Cross.
Red Cross assistance following a disaster includes immediate needs such as shelter, food, and clothing; providing mental health, health, and spiritual care assistance.