Des Arc, Ark. (AP) Emergency management officials are evacuating communities along the White River in Arkansas because a rural levee has shown signs of weakening.

A spokesman for the state's Department Of Emergency Management says he doesn't know how many people live in the affected area in Prairie County.

The National Weather Service issued a flash flood warning after the discovery, and emergency workers have started sandbagging the levee.

Meanwhile, teams of state and federal officials are preparing to examine flood-damaged buildings and businesses in the state.

Officials say they expect that workers across the state will certainly find far more damage than an initial two-million-dollar estimate that the Arkansas department of emergency management offered last week.