FORT SMITH - Governor Asa Hutchinson and most of Arkansas Congressional delegation were on hand Thursday to tour the devastation of this week’s flooding from the air. The state’s chief executive was joined by Senators John Boozman and Tom Cotton, Congressman Steve Womack, Congressman Bruce Westerman, and representatives of Congressman French Hill’s office, and met with the media on Thursday afternoon at the Garrison Avenue bridge.
“As I flew over today, the most significant impression I had is that it’s hard to imagine the magnitude of the flooding,” Hutchinson told reporters. “It is hard to comprehend. We have never seen this before, and we have never had to deal with this before.”
The news conference came as President Trump signed an order directing FEMA to coordinate disaster relief efforts and provide assistance as warranted by the Stafford Act, which according to its’ original purpose is a mechanism to “save lives, to protect property, public health and safety, and to lessen or avert the threat of a catastrophe”.
The Governor’s request to the White House included appropriations for Arkansas, Chicot, Conway, Crawford, Desha, Faulkner, Franklin, Jefferson, Johnson, Lincoln, Logan, Perry, Pope, Sebastian and Yell Counties.
“The strength of Arkansas is its people. As we deal with the challenges associated with the staggering flooding along the Arkansas River, I’m committed to working with our state leadership, congressional delegation, the Trump administration and anybody else to ensure that the response from the federal government is appropriate and timely,” Senator John Boozman said on Thursday. “I grew up in Fort Smith and couldn’t have imagined something like this happening, but it has. I’m so encouraged by the support and togetherness folks in the affected communities and across our state have shown and continue to show. We will move forward and help those impacted.”
Arkansas’ junior Senator echoed similar sentiments.
“These actions are part of our all-hands-on-deck effort to help Arkansans hurt by this emergency. Everyone—from public officials to law enforcement to private citizens—are working hard to respond to this disaster and rebuild. As always, my staff stands ready to assist any Arkansan affected by this disaster,” Cotton said. “As Arkansans, we’re all in this together. We’ll pull through this together.”
For assistance dealing with federal agencies, Cotton welcomes constituents to contact his office at (501) 223-9081.
