More than 200 people at summer camp airlifted to safety as Missouri faces flooding | Missouri
Heavy rains and widespread flooding battered parts of Missouri on Friday, prompting the evacuation by helicopter of more than 200 children and staff from a summer camp and the rescue of about 20 people who were later carried to safety in a collapsed camp building.
The children were stranded at Camp Taum Sauk in the southeastern town of Lesterville because nearby roads were washed out and more rain was forecast, according to Sergeant Eddie Young of the state highway patrol. He said the Army national guard used Black Hawk helicopters to fly them to a nearby elementary school and reunite them with their families.
The camp thanked emergency crews in a post on Instagram late Friday, saying: “We appreciate your help in keeping our camp community safe.”
Meanwhile, campers at the Bearcat Getaway campground near Black River, about 85 miles (136 km) south of St. Louis, climbed a building when it collapsed to get away from raging waters, Young said.
“Because of the weight and the steady water underneath, it succumbed to them,” he said.
Three people stranded in trees on the Black River in Reynolds County were rescued Friday evening, Young said.
No major injuries or deaths were reported, but a Crawford County woman went missing after the home she was in was swept off its foundation by flooding, Young said. The district is approximately 71 miles (114km) southwest of St Louis.
The National Weather Service issued flash flood warnings for the area, which received 6 to 12 inches (15 to 30 cm) of rain from back-to-back storms, said Matt Beitscher, chief meteorologist at the NWS office in St. Louis.
“This is a very, very popular place for recreation,” Beitscher said of the affected counties. “So there are campgrounds there. There are floating excursions there. There are a lot of vulnerable populations that could be exposed to flash flooding.”
The NWS warned that “significant flooding impacts will be likely” if southeast Missouri receives more heavy rain overnight into Saturday morning.
Missouri governor Mike Kehoe declared a state of emergency and deployed one of the state’s search and rescue teams to assist. Hundreds of people had been rescued from floodwaters, trees, rooftops and stranded vehicles late Friday, he said.
Some major roadways have become impassable due to flooding and damage, Kehoe said, warning that the Black River continues to rise and is expected to crest more than 28 feet (8.5 meters) near Annapolis in southeast Missouri, which would be a record for the waterway.
“As recovery efforts continue and additional rain is expected, I urge everyone in flood-prone and low-lying areas to remain weather alert, have multiple ways to receive warnings, and be prepared to take protective action,” Kehoe said in a statement.
Two rescue boats capsized in Reynolds County due to flooding, but other emergency personnel rescued the responders safely, the sheriff’s office said.
