Hundreds of people were stranded in rural southeastern Missouri on Friday after flash floods triggered by torrential thunderstorms inundated communities, campsites and roads across the Ozark Mountains.
National Guard teams used Black Hawk helicopters to airlift about 200 people from Camp Taum Sauk in Lesterville, around 160km south of St. Louis, after rising waters from the Black River cut off the area.
Missouri State Highway Patrol Sergeant Eddie Young said about half of those evacuated from the summer youth camp were children, while the remainder were counsellors and staff.
Elsewhere along the Black River in Reynolds County, rescue teams used boats to save three more people stranded by the floodwaters. As of Friday evening, authorities had reported no deaths.
Earlier, the Reynolds County Sheriff’s Office said emergency crews had rescued more than 90 people from floodwaters that submerged homes, vehicles and campsites.
One of those rescued, Joann Franklin, told St. Louis television station KMOV-TV that she, her husband and their dog and cat were rescued from the roof of their home.
“This is the highest that the water’s ever been, and I’ve lived here since 1979, so (almost) 50 years,” she said.
The dangerous conditions also caused two rescue boats carrying emergency workers to capsize in fast-moving water. The sheriff’s office said all crew members were safely recovered downstream by fellow responders.
Young said another 20 to 30 people initially reported missing in Reynolds County were later found safe or rescued, including a group believed to have been swept from the roof of a collapsing building at the Bearcat Getaway Campground.
One person remained missing in neighbouring Crawford County.
Flood-damaged roads made it difficult for emergency crews to reach several riverside campgrounds, but search teams planned to return as water levels receded.
Officials said the Black River and nearby streams rose rapidly after thunderstorms dumped between 150mm and 300mm of rain across the region overnight and into Friday morning. More rainfall was forecast for Friday night.
Several counties in Missouri’s Lead Belt region of the eastern Ozarks suffered the worst flooding, although severe weather threatened a much wider area.
The US National Weather Service issued flood watches across parts of eight states, covering more than 21 million people from Missouri to Pennsylvania.
Missouri Governor Mike Kehoe declared a state of emergency in the affected areas to speed up disaster response and improve coordination between state and local agencies.
Faridah Abdulkadiri
