Beebe ups emergency storm money to $550k (UALR Public Radio) - As the remnants of Hurricane Gustav spun over Arkansas, Gov. Mike Beebe increased by $300,000 the amount the state is contributing to the effort to care for Louisiana residents who fled the storm.

The announcement Tuesday by Beebe's office brings the total to $550,000 that Beebe has allocated from Arkansas' Emergency Response Fund.

More than 2,300 people were staying at a shelter at Fort Chaffee in western Arkansas, where they were brought either by airplane or bus through the organized relief effort. Thousands more traveled on their own and bedded down in local hotels, shelters and private homes.

Three years ago after Hurricane Katrina, thousands of refugees poured through Fort Chaffee, and the Federal Emergency Management Agency estimated 4,000 evacuees remained in Arkansas a year later. FEMA had helped many evacuees by covering living expenses for months after the storm.

The Arkansas Department of Emergency Management on Tuesday issued a reminder that people who traveled to Arkansas on their own will have to finance their return trip. Evacuees who were brought to Arkansas as part of the government evacuation will get a ride home using similar buses and aircraft.

Folks in hotels will have to pay for their rooms themselves, the agency said.

ADEM said that as of Tuesday morning, there were 5,156 evacuees housed in shelters in Arkansas across the state. The agency said that as soon as Louisiana gives clearance for people to return, evacuees at Fort Chaffee will be taken home and people in shelters will be notified.

People who fled to Arkansas to avoid Gustav's winds experienced Gustav's rain on Tuesday.

Rainfall of 3 to 6 inches is expected through Thursday from the remnants of the storm. Areas that experience stronger storms could get up to 10 inches, according to the National Weather Service office in North Little Rock.

A flash flood watch was posted for much of Arkansas and gusty winds were expected, prompting a lake wind advisory. The weather service said severe weather was possible Tuesday and Wednesday as Gustav's storm bands move across Arkansas. Isolated tornadoes are possible.

The weather service said the greatest flooding threat is in the western two-thirds of the state, though that could change if the storm's track changes.

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