Downtown Hot Springs business owners reflect on 30 year anniversary of May 1990, historic flood

HOT SPRINGS, Ark. – It’s been 30 years since the historic flood of May 19, 1990, in downtown Hot Springs. Many business owners on Central Avenue remember cars floating down the street and their shops filling with water. Now, in 2020, they are trying to keep their head above water during a different crisis.

For Suzanne Tucker, it’s hard to believe it’s been three decades since water rushed down Central Avenue.

“The drops were huge. I’ve never seen rain like that,” Tucker said.

She’s owned the same building, now Historic District Antiques, since the 80’s and had a front-row seat on May 19, 1990.

“The cars were floating down the street and breaking out the picture windows,” Tucker said.

Despite the years passed, some memories stick with her like it was yesterday.

“There was a woman outside hanging on to one of these decorative light posts and just screaming and she lost her grip and she just washed down,” Tucker said.

That historic flood shut down a number of businesses in downtown. Fast forward 30 years, businesses have shut their doors yet again. This time it’s for the COVID-19 pandemic.

“A different crisis,” Tucker said.

This one is causing destruction you can’t see, but for many of these downtown shops and restaurants, it’s like they’re fighting the current all over again.

“It’s catastrophic. I don’t know what the future holds,” Tucker said.

In 1990, Tucker said they knew the water would eventually go down and they could rely on the community to help clean the debris.

“I remember people from the convention center coming down here with their wet vacs and vacuuming out the store and doing what they could,” Tucker said.

In 2020, there is no telling when this pandemic will end.

“I don’t know what buying patterns are going to be after this. People have to buy basic necessities, don’t know if they’re going to have money for luxury items. It’s all a big question,” Tucker said.

Despite the list of unknowns, Tucker is confident in one thing. Just like that flood, in 30 years’ time, COVID-19 will just be another survival story for this resilient downtown.

“We always come back,” Tucker said.

Tucker plans on hosting a soft opening this weekend. She has already laid out social distancing stickers and plenty of hand sanitizer throughout her shop.