Heavy rainfall and widespread flooding battered parts of Missouri on Friday, forcing the helicopter evacuations of more than 200 children and staff from a summer camp and the rescues of about 20 people who had moved to safety on a campground building that then collapsed.
With nearby roads washed away and more rain in the forecast, the children were trapped at Camp Taum Sauk in the small south-eastern community of Lesterville, according Sgt Eddie Young of the state’s highway patrol. The army national guard used Black Hawk helicopters to fly them to a nearby elementary school and reunite them with their families, he said.
The camp thanked emergency crews late on Friday in a post on Instagram, saying: “We are beyond thankful for your help keeping our camp community safe.”
Meanwhile, the campers at the Bearcat Getaway campground near the Black River, about 85 miles (136km) south of St Louis, had climbed on to a building to get away from the raging waters when it collapsed, Young said.
“Between the weight and the constant waters underneath it, it just gave way on them,” he said.
Three other people were trapped on trees on the Black River in Reynolds county and were rescued on Friday evening, Young said.
There have been no reports of major injuries or fatalities, but a woman in Crawford county was missing after a house she was in was swept from its foundation by the flooding, Young said. The county is about 71 miles (114km) south-west of St Louis.
The National Weather Service issued flash flood warnings for the area, which received 6-12in (15-30cm) of rain as thunderstorms piled on one after another, said Matt Beitscher, a lead meteorologist with the NWS office in St Louis.
“It’s very, very popular place for recreation,” Beitscher said 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.”
The NWS warned that if south-eastern Missouri sees more heavy rains overnight into Saturday morning, “considerable flood impacts will be likely”.
The Missouri governor, Mike Kehoe, declared a state of emergency and activated one of the state’s search-and-rescue teams to assist. He said late on Friday that hundreds of people had been saved from flood waters, trees, rooftops and stranded vehicles.
Several major roads were impassable due to flooding and damage, Kehoe said, warning that the Black River was continuing to rise and was expected to crest at more than 28ft (8.5m) near Annapolis in south-eastern 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 stay weather-aware, have multiple ways of receiving alerts and be ready to take protective action,” Kehoe said in a statement.
In Reynolds county, two rescue boats capsized in the flooding, but other emergency personnel safely recovered the responders, the sheriff’s office said.