New 18-year-old mayor of Earle, Arkansas, faces flash floods in first week of office

LITTLE ROCK (KATV) — Jaylen Smith has been mayor of Earle, Arkansas for six days. At 18 years-old, he's the youngest Black mayor in the country.

This week, Smith faced his first test as a leader – flash floods brought by rain earlier this week.

Earle townspeople say that he is already making a positive impact in his new role as mayor.

Tuesday, pouring rain brought flash floods to the town and surrounding region.

Smith's administration quickly responded by clearing streets and drainage systems of debris.

"This mayor came in, he knew the situation," said Billy Murray, a resident of Earle and Smith's high school coach and health teacher.

Murray's house is at an intersection prone to severe flooding.

"I think he walked out of his office and looked down here and seen how much water it was. Next day when the water was down, they were down here cleaning it out. So, I'm proud of him, impressed with him. But that's what I like about him. What he say he's going to do, he going try to do or he's going to make a hell of an effort trying to do it. So, I know he's a good thing for Earle," Murray said.

I called all my department heads to make sure, what are they doing to make sure that those flood zones are down. That the drainage is clean. What are we doing to make sure our citizens are safe," Smith said.

"And so what we did to get rid of the issue, we cleaned out our drainage across the city – and the spots that is flooded the most, so the next time it rains, those same problems won't occur again. We make sure--now daily--that our drains are clean," he said.

Mayor Smith said that next week he will initiate his 100-day plan focusing on public safety, beautifying the city, abandoned houses, city ordinances, stray dogs, and street repairs.

"This is my hometown, I would never leave Earle. Earle is my heart, my home," said Smith. "I would rather be here in Earle than anywhere else."