PINE BLUFF, Ark. — It seems like Pine Bluff cannot get out of a flooding rut.
Just when they thought the water was done, it came back again Monday night and broke its record for most rainfall on that day.
That record breaking number was 3.39 inches on Monday, with almost one inch in about 16 minutes.
Joni Alexander, Council Member of Ward 1, said that no matter the chance of rain, Pine Bluff always seems to get hit.
"We broke records. We got five inches of rain in an hour and 15 minutes. We never experienced that here. We can handle usually an inch an hour as far as no flooding anywhere, but it was five inches in an hour and 15 minutes, so that's what we were dealing with," she said.
Breaking records as the water continued to come down Monday night leaves many wondering: 'Why does this always happen to Pine Bluff?'
Alexander said she believes many people don't know the real reasoning behind it.
"A lot of people think because of our drainage system, if we were to fully replace it, things like that wouldn't happen," she said.
Alexander said it is not that simple.
"It's where we are geographically," she said.
Alexander said the city was built on a lake bed, so there's nowhere for the water to go.
"When we were built on that lake bed back then, technology wasn't the way it is now, to kind of do different things with that water, so we redirected that water, but if we were to do something like that today, I don't think Pine Bluff would have the flooding issues we have now," she said.
Shawn Howell, Pine Bluff Fire Chief, said these flooding issues caused the Main Police and Fire Department to close its ground floor for the second time this spring.
"It all happened very rapidly and there were other areas throughout the city that experienced flash flooding as well," he said.
Howell said areas like 8th Avenue and Convention Center Drive were hit the hardest and this re-occurrence is causing the fire department to consider making some changes.
"We possibly may have to entertain the idea of relocating the fire station to a different location," he said.
Alexander says that for now, patience is key.
"The best thing we can do is just kind of recognize the areas that overflow the quickest and make sure that we have a plan when there's a flash flood warning," she said.