Flood damage restoration and storm water in Little Rock
Storm water gets in two ways here: up from a creek that rose faster than anyone expected, or down through a roof that wind or a falling tree opened.
A referral service, not a contractor. Your callback request is passed to an independent restoration company that works your part of central Arkansas. Riverstage does not perform the extraction, drying or repairs.
Water coming up: creeks and streets
- Stay out of moving water. During the 2019 river flood, Little Rock police repeated the warning: Turn Around, Don't Drown. Never drive into a flooded street.
- Don't go back in until it is safe. Floodwater can hide holes, live wires and washed-out floors. Wait for the water to drop and the power to be off.
- Treat it as sewage. Creek and river water counts as Category 3, the most contaminated class under the S500 standard. Wear boots and gloves, and keep children away.
- Photograph the water line on every wall before anything is moved or torn out.
Water coming down: roofs and windows
- Leave rooms with a sagging ceiling. Wet drywall overhead is heavy and can fall.
- Call 911 if the structure looks unsafe, if a tree is on the house, or if a power line is down near it.
- Smell gas? Summit Utilities says to leave on foot without touching switches or phones, then call 911 and Summit at 800-992-7552 from a safe place.
- Cover openings only when it is safe. Tarping a roof in wind or rain is how people get hurt. Many restoration companies tarp and board up as part of the first visit.
The tornado that opened west Little Rock's roofs
The survey traces the tornado northeast across Kanis Road and Chenal Parkway, where it badly damaged apartment buildings off Napa Valley Drive. The worst home damage was along and west of North Shackleford Road, on Jamestown Drive and Cobble Hill Road. It crossed I-430 near the North Rodney Parham interchange, then tore roofs off homes and apartments between I-430 and Cantrell Road.
From there it passed through Cammack Village, crossed the river at Murray Park, uprooted trees by the thousands in Burns Park and went on through Amboy, Sherwood and Jacksonville.
Most houses on the edges of a path like that keep their walls but lose shingles, decking or a section of roof. The rain that follows a spring storm then runs through insulation into ceilings and down inside walls. That water damage can end up larger than the wind damage, and it is the part that needs to start drying right away.
If your roof is opened, the order is: make it safe, cover the opening, get the water out, then dry the ceiling and wall cavities. Roof repair usually comes from a different contractor.
Flash floods: Rock Creek and Fourche Creek
The storm of September 13, 1978 is the benchmark. The Encyclopedia of Arkansas says the National Weather Service measured 8.10 inches of rain that day, with 6.25 inches falling in five hours. Rock Creek rose so fast that homes in the John Barrow addition near Boyle Park were knocked from their foundations, a car floated into a gas line, and police rescued people trapped on Asher Avenue. Ten people drowned in Little Rock, and three more died in Benton.
Rock Creek feeds Fourche Creek, and an EPA watershed report says the Fourche watershed drains more than 99 percent of the Little Rock metro area, catching, storing and releasing its floodwater. The Fourche bottomlands south of downtown still hold about 2,000 acres of intact wetland. When the Arkansas River is high, it backs water up the creek: the NWS gauge notes say the Fourche Dam Pike area begins to flood from backwater at 26 feet.
Check your flood zone on FEMA's Flood Map Service Center before you assume a house is safe. Flash flooding does not stay inside mapped zones.
Hiring after a big storm
After a storm that hits thousands of homes, crews arrive from out of town and some people go door to door. Some are fine; some are not. A few habits protect you whoever you hire:
- Get the company's full name, a local address and a phone number, and look it up yourself.
- Ask for a certificate of liability insurance and a written estimate before work begins.
- Read any contract fully, including any form that assigns your insurance benefits to the company or directs your insurer to pay it.
- Don't pay in full up front. Pay against work you can see.
- For permits on structural repairs in Little Rock, the building permit desk is at 501-371-4832.
The Arkansas Insurance Department's Consumer Services Division, 501-371-2640 or 1-800-852-5494, takes questions and complaints about insurers, agents and adjusters, and says its staff travel to damaged areas after major storms to help homeowners.
Storm and flood questions
How high does the Arkansas River have to get to flood homes?
Flood stage at Little Rock is 23 feet. The NWS notes list homes on Gribble Street in the Crockett Addition as possibly affected at 24 feet, and the Baring Cross, Dixie and Eastgate areas of North Little Rock near 29 feet. The 2019 crest was 29.71 feet.
Is the drying different after a flood than after a pipe leak?
Yes. Floodwater is treated as contaminated, so more material is removed instead of dried in place, and the structure is cleaned before drying starts. It usually takes longer and costs more.
Can I wait for the adjuster before starting cleanup?
Ask your insurer what it wants before work starts, but don't let water sit for days on that account. Photograph everything, keep damaged items or samples if you can, and keep every receipt.