Andy Jetullahau (left), 14, and Will Moates, 16, sit on the back of a truck to secure furniture Sunday as residents evacuate a Fort Smith street. More photos are available at arkansasonline.com/527flooding/.

Officials with the National Weather Service in Little Rock predicted Sunday that the water flowing from a drenched northeast Oklahoma will cause historic flooding on parts of the Arkansas River this week.

Based on new crest forecasts released Sunday, the river will see "the worst flooding in recorded history from the Toad Suck area and points northwest," according to a weather service news release.

Gauges near Van Buren, Ozark, Tailwater, Dardanelle, Morrilton, Toad Suck and Pine Bluff are already indicating major flooding, and moderate flooding is expected in Little Rock and near the Perry County town of Houston.

"We are making our forecast crest predictions based on the water being released from the reservoirs in Oklahoma," meteorologist Dennis Cavanaugh said. "The amount of rainfall in Oklahoma combined with water being released is causing a change in forecasts."

Water had already flooded houses in Fort Smith this weekend, where the river is expected to crest at 42.5 feet by Wednesday.

The river is also expected to crest at 42.5 feet Wednesday in Van Buren, 376.5 feet above sea level in Ozark on Thursday, 44.5 feet in Dardanelle on Friday and at 42 feet in Morrilton on Saturday. The water is forecast to crest at 284 feet above sea level in Toad Suck on Sunday, 27.5 feet in Little Rock on Monday and 48 feet in Pine Bluff on June 5.

Local officials can choose to measure river levels in reference to sea level or from the riverbed, causing the discrepancy in crest levels, the weather agency said.

Jay Woods, a spokesman for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, said the Corps has lifted the gates along the river and the water is currently free flowing.

"We don't control the water in Arkansas," Woods said. "In Tulsa they have flow control levees, but they are so full they had to release it. We don't have that in Arkansas. Our lock and dams just keep the 9 feet channel. It's an open river right now."

Cavanaugh said the primary concern at this moment is the water rising over the levees, which appeared likely as of Sunday afternoon.

"We don't have an exact idea where this will occur right now," Cavanaugh said. "Dardanelle, Morrilton, west Conway, Fort Smith, and low-lying parts of Russellville could all feel maximum impacts."

Woods said residents can determine if their homes are at risk for flooding by checking the FEMA Flood Map Service Center online at msc.fema.gov/portal/search and typing in their address.

Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson approved $100,000 in emergency funds to support communities threatened by the rising Arkansas River, according to a news release issued Sunday.

In the release, Hutchinson said public safety officials briefed him Sunday morning on the state's ongoing efforts to provide aid to areas experiencing record flood levels along the river.

"I appreciate all the neighbors and volunteers filling sandbags and assisting with evacuations," Hutchinson said. "The state team is continuing to respond to assistance requests, and more funds will be allocated as the situation demands."

On Friday, Hutchinson declared a state of emergency in anticipation of flooding. By Saturday, the state Department of Emergency Management was at level-one readiness, meaning it was staffed for a major event, spokesman Barbara Hager said.

"We are keeping track of it and if the loss of homes reaches to a point we will make a request for federal assistance," Hager said.

Hager said the Arkansas Department of Emergency Management is trying to gauge the potential affected areas but the situation is complicated.

"Unfortunately, when the historic flooding happened in the past we didn't have all this infrastructure and locks and and dams so we don't have a good feel for how it's going to spread out," Hager said.

The main thing counties are asking from the Department of Emergency Management is sand and sandbags, Hager said.

"I know they made a sandbag levee in Pope County to block some of the water," Hager said. "We are just trying to help the counties know which areas might be affected and how to prepare themselves for it."

The state Department of Transportation said multiple roads were closed because of flooding, including a section of Arkansas 105 in Pope County.

In Fort Smith, the flooding was already taking a toll Sunday. The Arkansas Department of Transportation announced on Twitter on Sunday night that it was closing the westbound lanes of U.S. 64 at the Arkansas River bridge due to floodwaters covering both sides of the highway across the river in Oklahoma.

Police spokesman Aric Mitchell said water had already reached houses in the city's flood-prone communities and had blocked multiple roadways.

Debris and a road closure sign floated in the 9 feet of water that covered parts of Riverlyn Terrace. A woman and a man paddled in a fishing boat from their home -- where water had risen up to the eaves and was seeping into the second floor inside -- to their truck, where they placed the last of their belongings.

Marcus Rachard Bobo, who lives across the street from the inundated home, said the couple had lived there for years, and had experienced floods before, but never this severe.

Early Sunday, Bobo drove out to his home where water had risen more than halfway up his garage door and was already in his home. He said he and his wife began moving Thursday, but that the first place they drove their moving truck to flooded, too.

"I moved everything for the third time today," Bobo said.

To get to his home Sunday, Bobo cut across several soaked lawns, never stepping into the water.

"Oh, was that a snake?" Bobo said, turning quickly toward the water.

A neighbor, turning, looked for the snake for a moment before going inside and retrieving a small-caliber pistol. She looked around for a moment, couldn't spot the snake and sat down in a lawn chair, pistol in hand.

"If you see it again, I'm going to shoot it," she said. "That's the second time they've seen a cottonmouth today."

As neighbors passed through the neighborhood, Bobo stopped to talk. He made dinner plans with one and comforted another on the loss of belongings but ended each conversation the same way.

"I'll be praying for you," he said each time.

On Edgewood Circle, one street over from Riverlyn, water had filled a cul-de-sac and was creeping quickly up the driveway of the surrounding homes. Pickups and moving vans lined the street as a dozen sweating people milled in and around a house where the water hadn't yet reached the front steps.

When no one had heard from the elderly couple who live in the home by Sunday morning, Wayne King said a member of the First Baptist Church on 14th Street and Grand Avenue went to check on them. They hadn't expected the water to get to their home, King said, and hadn't made any preparations.

"I don't think they had an inkling that it'd be this bad," said King's son, Chris King.

So a dozen members of the church and several surrounding neighbors joined in to move the couple's belongings out of their house before the water crept in.

"We're in a time game now," King said. "We're just trying to save as much as we can save."

The impact of the flooding could remain through most of June, Cavanaugh said.

"Significant rain across the Arkansas River basin will ensure the water is here for a prolonged amount of time," Cavanaugh said. "Parks ... along the river will definitely be affected because nobody can put their boats on the water because it will be flowing too fast and there will be a lot of debris. Many parks and campgrounds will be closed down for a little while."

Little Rock Parks and Recreation announced Sunday evening that Murray Park and Rebsaman Golf Course will close today because of the anticipated flooding. Rebsaman Park Road will be closed at the roundabout at Riverfront Drive and at Overlook Drive.

The water coming from Oklahoma is considered very fast moving, Woods said.

"The water is flowing right now at 269,000 cubic feet per second," Woods said. "It is expected to be moving at 510,000 cubic feet per second by the first Monday in June."

The potential flooding also brings its own unique set of circumstances, Woods said.

"In the past when flooding like this happened it was during the rainy season and people where aware of the danger," Woods said. "This one it has been nothing but sunshine outside so people might not realize the danger. Make sure to follow all instructions from local safety officials, and please don't get out on the river."

Photo by NWA Democrat-Gazette/CHARLIE KAIJO

Moon Lasavady dips her feet in the floodwaters Sunday near the Riverfront Amphitheater in Fort Smith.

Correction: Dennis Cavanaugh is a meteorologist at the National Weather Service. A previous version of this story incorrectly spelled his name.

A Section on 05/27/2019