A reported 16 people have died and over 70 are missing after flash floods devastated campsites in Ouachita Mountains, Arkansas.

Video of Arkansas flood

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Many people were hit by the sudden floods while they were sleeping causing many to drown.

The floods were caused due to a seven inches (18 CM) of rain which was poured into the area within a few hours said the National Weather Service.

The rain fall caused the Caddo and Little Missouri River to rise to about 20 feet (six meters).

A hydrologist from the National Weather Service in Arkansas, Tabitha Clarke said “The Little Missouri River crested about 5:30 am and the Caddo about 8:00 am,”

Arkansas Governor Mike Beebe told reporters early Friday that “They probably had no warning,” of the water coming to them.

According to Beebe the rainwater poured down the hills like funneled down to the camping areas where several hundred people were in the busy summer period.

Beebe told CNN “It was just a horrible convergence of a number of events. And as a result of it, you see this huge loss of life”

Some officials described the area as though a Tsunami or a tornado hit as houses were damaged, cars flipped over and furniture and kitchen items all over the roads and areas where the flood hit.

The National Weather Service had issued a warning at approximately 2AM.

“There is a search and rescue mission under way, we’ll stay here as long as it takes” said Bill Sadler the, Arkansas state police spokesman to AOL News yesterday afternoon.

Rescue workers on Friday had reached 60 people and taken 20 of them to hospital due to their injuries.

An estimated 300 people were camping in the area when the flash floods hits the wooded area.

An officer also spoke of the difficulty of finding the exact number of dead as there was no way of knowing who was there and who was not.

“It’s not a regular campground where you check in, we’re even having difficulty with our radio communications and moving toward satellite hookups right now. So it will be a while before we have reliable communications in that area.” Said the officer

Officials are currently searching the area but also depend on worried relatives calling in to say that someone was missing.

On Friday three helicopters were sent to help groundsman and volunteers to find survivors or the dead.

Authorities are currently looking for survivors and dead bodies which may have been washed away as one body was reported to have been washed 8 miles downstream.

“This is going to be a week or two- or three-week recovery.” said Gary Fox a former emergency medical technician helping with operations.

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