Governor Beebe's Weekly Column and Radio Address: Tragedy, Appreciation, Inspiration

Statement

It has been a month since a flash flood claimed 20 lives at the Albert Pike Recreation Area in the Ouachita National Forest. In the weeks since the tragedy, my staff and I have visited with families of the men, women and children who died that morning. Along with sharing their grief, these families had stories of inspiration and appreciation that they asked me to pass along. I want to recount some of them with you today.

A few weeks ago, the Shumate family traveled from East Texas to meet with me at the Capitol. Their loved ones, Robert and Wilene Shumate, along with their grandson Nic, were among those killed in the flood. Upon arriving in Montgomery County after the disaster, the Shumate family was overwhelmed by the outpouring of generosity and compassion. As one family member put it, five minutes before they knew they needed something, someone was there putting it in their hands. Strangers approached them, offering unlocked cabins down the road where they were welcome to help themselves to a bed or a shower or just some privacy.

Relatives of the late Debra McMaster from Hope told my staff stories of her heroic actions in her final moments. After helping her husband secure their two daughters in a nearby tree, Debra went back into the water to answer pleas for help from another woman and her young child. She helped get both of them to safety before being swept away by the water.

Multiple families recounted the heroic efforts of three teenage boys from Louisiana and Texas who helped rescue others from the water, then stayed to keep talking to a legally blind woman across the river who was disoriented but hanging on to a tree. She, too, was later rescued. Two of the three boys lost relatives in the flood.

Everyone spoke of the unceasing outreach of the people in and around Langley and Lodi. Many of them already knew of the hospitality and kindness to be found in Montgomery and Pike Counties, because Albert Pike had been a favorite vacation site for them for years, decades in some cases. Seeing how the communities came together and reached out to victims and survivors during this unprecedented tragedy left some family members in awe and eternally grateful.

I was proud of the kind words for the state, federal and local officials who responded to the flash flood. Many went above and beyond their official duties to counsel these grieving families in any way they could. As is often the case in any large-scale disaster, not everything went perfectly in the immediate aftermath of the flooding, and the families provided valuable feedback we will use to improve our response in the future.

All the families of these victims wanted to share stories about their loved ones, stories that would reveal and preserve memories of happier times. This tragedy affected families from three states, but the response and sympathy came from around the world. Arkansans showed our usual mettle and caring spirit in our response, an example we have seen too often with repeated natural disasters, but one of which we will remain proud in the years to come.

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