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Press Conference
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WHITFIELD: All right. In southwestern Arkansas, the search continues for dozens of people after that flash flood. We'll take you right now to a press conference under way that is Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack.
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TOM VILSACK, AGRICULTURE SECRETARY: For those who lost loved ones. We met with members of the families. It was obviously a very emotional experience for us and for them. This is a difficult time. I will tell you there is no question that Arkansas is a caring community today. To a person we talked to, they were so impressed with the outpouring of love and concern and compassion that the folks from Arkansas have shown during a very difficult time. I came down here today with the forest chief to make sure that all the resources were being made available to the community to make sure that we continue do the best job we possibly can in the search and rescue process.
We have approximately somewhere between 30 and 34 service personnel working for us today. We provided equipment and will continue to work until we are sure that we've done everything we possibly can to find every single person who is missing and do a count for those who are currently unaccounted for.
I want to thank the chairwoman for her compassion and her direction to us to do everything we possibly can. She was on the phone to me almost immediately after the devastation, encouraging us to do everything we possibly can.
I know Senator Pryor and Congressman Ross are also very supportive of what's taken place here. It's a tragedy in such a beautiful part of the country that something so devastating can happen so quickly. But we're going to continue to work hard. We're going to continue to have hope, and we will do everything we possibly can. (INAUDIBLE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, this is one of the most devastating, hardest tragedies our state has been through in a long, long time. It's -- one encouraging thing is to see how neighbors helping neighbor, to see how people from all across the state have converged on this area to do the search and rescue, to bring comfort to the families. Have to make a special note about the churches that have rolled out and have just gone above and beyond the call of duty, and as they would probably recognize, that they're going that extra mile for these folks. And you know, that makes you feel good about our state.
We just went to the church there in Lodi and they had items from lots of businesses around the state. The food's coming in. The support's coming in. And we know that there's still a lot of hard work ahead of the rescue teams.
Anyway, I do want to thank all the folks in the local community to pitch in on this tragedy. As hard as it's been, it's been a time for everybody to come together. And with Senator Lincoln's leadership and the secretary and the director of the Park Service -- or the Forest Service here, everybody's working as hard as they can and doing everything they can, state, local, federal. Everybody's just doing everything they can to make a very, very tragic situation more bearable and try to get closure for as many people as quickly as they possibly can. So here's Congressman Ross.
REP. MIKE ROSS (D), ARKANSAS: Mike Ross, Arkansas 4th congressional district. And I want to thank the secretary of agriculture, Tom Vilsack, and I want to thank the chief of the National Forest Service, Tom Tidwell (ph), for making the trip to Arkansas to be with us today. I want to thank both of the United States senators for being here.
We've seen the damage. It's devastating. In my district, we're used to tornadoes. We're not used to seeing anything like this. Back at the church, we visited with families of missing loved ones. Many of those families have loved ones that they know are dead, and others are still missing and they're hoping for the best. And I assured them that not only Arkansas but America is praying for them at this time. I visited with a man in his 80s, who's lived here all his life, who's never seen the type of flash flood that we witnessed here in this area, Camp Albert Pike, on Thursday night, early Friday morning.
I can assure you that the local, the state and the federal officials, all the various agencies, they're coordinating. They're working together. They've got the resources they need. It's just there was so much devastation from this flash flood, it's going to take time. And I want to thank everybody from all over this country that's offered up prayers for the people of this area, as well as the support. There are volunteer fire departments and other first responders from numerous counties, including other states, that are here assisting. And I want to thank them, as well.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: As Secretary Vilsack's already shared with you, we're here today to make sure that we're providing all the resources, personnel that's needed to continue the search-and-rescue efforts, to support the state, the counties, the communities and especially the families. So we're here today just to make sure we're providing all the resources that we can to continue this effort to complete the search and rescue and to continue to support the families. Thank you.
SEN. BLANCHE LINCOLN (D), ARKANSAS: Thanks. Well, again, we want to thank all of our federal folks, certainly, the Forest Service, the Game and Fish here on the state level, our local law enforcement emergency services and everybody. And please, we just ask all of America to lift up their thoughts and prayers for the families of those that have victims and those that have missed loved ones.
So any questions? We'll have to be brief, but...
QUESTION: (INAUDIBLE)
LINCOLN: Well, I've grown up on the river and I've grown up in tornado areas. So we know natural disasters. One of the things we know is, is to have good neighbors, you've got to be a good neighbor. And if there's anything we know about Arkansans is that they rally when these kind of disasters happen. In 2008, we had some terrific tornadoes that hit. We had a lot of devastation from that. Floods and tornadoes are pretty common to us, but we've had other things, as well. So all we know is, is that we've got good services both from the federal and the state level, and more importantly, local folks who come into play. They do a great job.
QUESTION: (INAUDIBLE) warning signals (INAUDIBLE) around the area (INAUDIBLE)
LINCOLN: Well, it's really tough. These storms came in from Texas. They got into those valleys. And unfortunately, they stalled, which meant a lot of that water came down immediately at one time, and it just kept coming down in the same place. There was a lot of problems there.
There are warning systems that are out there. Much of them come through TV and radio and other things. This is not a place where you get good cell service, unfortunately. And I know that the rangers that were here and the Forest Service folks that were here began to put out as much information as they could. It came at a part of the day. Obviously, at almost 2:00, 3:00 o'clock in the morning, it's tough to get that word out. The terrain here is very, very difficult, as you all have noticed. There are steep ravines along the riverbeds. And it's just a tough area. It's...
WHITFIELD: All right, you're listening to Senator Blanche Lincoln there out of Langley, Arkansas. They're talking about the complications that come with this now 20-mile or so search in rough terrain, looking for anyone who may have been swept away during that flash flooding that took place early yesterday morning, a confirmation of 17 people who died. But what's making it difficult to know if there were any other people who were victimized by this is that the manifest or the list of guests there at that campground was swept away along with the waters. And so they're not quite sure who they're looking for or how many they're looking for, but they continue in this ongoing and very difficult, treacherous search.
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