A slow-moving line of thunderstorms parked over southeastern Missouri overnight July 9–10 and dropped between 8 and 12 inches of rain — a rainfall total the National Weather Service classified as a 1-in-1,000-year event. The Black River rose out of its banks in the middle of the night, filling homes and campgrounds along the Ozark foothills and prompting a rare Flash Flood Emergency for parts of Reynolds, Iron and Crawford counties. See the full Missouri Flash Floods response page for the current list of ways to help.
Rescues and Casualties
By Friday evening, first responders had performed more than 351 water rescues, including the airlift of roughly 200 children and staff from Camp Taum Sauk after Missouri National Guard Black Hawk helicopters were dispatched into the flooded valley. In Crawford County, 60-year-old Faith Gregory was found dead about two miles downstream from her home along Huzzah Creek. As of Saturday morning at least six people remained missing after a campground building along the Black River collapsed into the floodwaters. Governor Mike Kehoe signed an executive order declaring a state of emergency across the United States region and activated Missouri Task Force 1 — a 50-member urban search-and-rescue team with swiftwater boats.
Relief Organizations on the Ground
The American Red Cross has opened an emergency shelter at the First Assembly of God Church in Centerville and set up a joint command post with The Salvation Army at Arcadia Valley High School, providing meals, cots, hydration and cleanup kits from a staging site in Ironton. Team Rubicon is mobilizing veteran-led response teams to assist with damage assessment and mucking out flooded structures, and Convoy of Hope is trucking emergency food, water and hygiene supplies into the isolated communities cut off by four-to-five-foot-deep water on Missouri Route 21.
How to Help
Additional heavy rain is in the forecast for the Ozarks, and the Black River and its tributaries will remain in flood stage for days. To support the response, visit the Missouri Flash Floods disaster page for a full list of responding organizations and donation links, or browse the Relief Directory for organizations helping communities recover from disasters worldwide.
