REYNOLDS COUNTY, Mo. (AP) — Emergency crews rescued about 20 people in Missouri on Friday after a building collapsed in a campground following widespread flooding and heavy rainfall in the state.
The campers were on top of a building at the Bearcat Getaway campground near the Black River, about 85 miles (136 kilometers) south of St. Louis, when it collapsed and were later rescued from the water, said Sgt. Eddie Young with the Missouri State Highway Patrol at a press conference.
The Reynolds County sheriff's office said emergency responders had more than 90 water rescues of campers and people in cars after several inches of rain fell overnight into the morning across a long swath of central and eastern Missouri.
The National Weather Service issued flash flood warnings for the area, which got between 6 and 12 inches as thunderstorms piled on the area one after another, said Matt Beitscher, a lead meteorologist with the NWS office in St. Louis.
“It’s very, very popular place for recreation," said Beitscher of the affected counties. "So there are campgrounds there. There are float trip locations there. A lot of vulnerable populations that would be susceptible to flash flooding.”
Missouri Gov. Mike Kehoe declared a state of emergency and activated one of the state's search and rescue teams to assist.
Several major roads were impassable due to flooding and damage, and a helicopter from the Missouri National Guard was being used to reach stranded people, said Young.
In Reynolds County, two rescue boats capsized in the flooding, but other emergency personnel safely recovered the responders, the sheriff's office said.
A family reunification center has been set up.
The state of emergency was declared through Executive Order 26-16 signed by Gov. Kehoe on Friday. It was in response to flash flooding in central, south central and southeastern parts of Missouri, per a press release from the governor's office.
"Over the past 24 hours, intense storms have created dangerous flash flooding across several regions of Missouri, resulting in multiple swift-water rescues," Gov. Kehoe said in a press release Friday. "Activating the State Emergency Operations Plan allows our agencies to move quickly, coordinate resources, and support local response efforts. I'm grateful for every first responder and local team member working around the clock to help save lives."
Kehoe's executive order expires on Aug. 10.
—
