Images and video show the aftermath of major flooding in Arkansas

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May 4, 2017 1:17 AM

A levee break in Pocahontas, Arkansas, on Wednesday caused sudden wide-spread flash flooding.

A levee burst in the town of Pocahontas, Arkansas, caused flash floods after a weekend of rain in the Midwest.

Some of the 6,500 residents in Pocahontas were ordered to evacuate, as the National Weather Service called the flooding "a potentially life-threatening situation," The Washington Post reported.

At least 20 people died in the storms, but the levee breach took things to another level.

These aerial images show the extent of disaster residents of Pocahontas are facing.

This aerial shot shows encroaching floodwaters which appeared to surround businesses and a highway.

Here's a photo of the actual levee breach.

Video footage appears to show floodwaters flowing over a section of the broken levee.

"The levees weren't designed for overtopping. When they go, we’re going to have a wall of water pouring out," Randolph County Judge David Jansen predicted days ago in the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette.

Here's Highway 37, completely submerged.

Footage from the Arkansas National Guard shows the magnitude of the devastation.

16 miles south of Pocahontas, an airboat skims the floodwaters in Portia, Arkansas.

In Reyno, Arkansas, 15 miles north of Pocahontas, an entire cabin was swept away in floodwaters and is destroyed as it crashed into a bridge.

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