Body of woman swept from home recovered nearly 2 miles downstream
Faith Gregory’s body was found Saturday morning by volunteers in Huzzah Creek about 1.8 miles from her home in Crawford County, approximately 70 miles southwest of St. Louis, according to the Crawford County Sheriff’s Office. The sheriff’s office said no one else remained unaccounted for in the county.
The flooding began Friday as slow-moving thunderstorms dumped 6 to 12 inches of rain across already saturated ground in southeastern Missouri, washing out roads around Camp Taum Sauk in the small community of Lesterville. The Army National Guard deployed Black Hawk helicopters to fly the campers and staff to an elementary school, where they were reunited with their families, Young said.
At the Bearcat Getaway campground near the Black River, about 85 miles south of St. Louis, campers climbed onto a building to escape rising floodwater. The building then collapsed. “Between the weight and the constant waters underneath it, it just gave away on them,” Young said. No major injuries were reported, according to Young.
Three other people trapped on trees in the Black River in Reynolds County were rescued, Young said. Two rescue boats capsized in Reynolds County during the flooding, but emergency personnel safely recovered the responders, the sheriff’s office said.
Gov. Kehoe issued a state of emergency Friday and activated a search and rescue team. He said late Friday that hundreds of people had been saved from floodwaters, trees, rooftops and stranded vehicles. Several major roads remained impassable due to flooding and damage, and Kehoe warned that the Black River was continuing to rise and was expected to crest at more than 28 feet near Annapolis, which would be a record.
“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.
The National Weather Service issued flash flood warnings as thunderstorms piled one after another across the region. The slow-moving storms affected a wide area stretching from the Ozark Mountains in southern Missouri eastward into the Ohio and Tennessee river valleys, with some places experiencing impacts into Sunday, the NWS said. Authorities from Kentucky to West Virginia told people to be ready to seek higher ground. Missouri’s emergency management agency warned that further thunderstorms could bring additional flash flooding, especially in areas that had already received 6 to 12 inches of rain.
Matt Beitscher, a lead meteorologist with the NWS office in St. Louis, said the affected counties are “very, very popular” for recreation, with campgrounds and float-trip locations. “A lot of vulnerable populations that would be susceptible to flash flooding,” Beitscher said.
Camp Taum Sauk thanked emergency crews in a post on Instagram, saying, “We are beyond thankful for your help keeping our camp community safe.”
A widespread heatwave was building across the United States on Saturday, with triple-digit highs expected in the Southwest and Great Plains through the weekend before spreading eastward, forecasters said. Meteorologists described a dome of high pressure that could trap oppressive temperatures for a week or more. The heatwave could affect as much as two-thirds of the continental United States. More than two dozen people died during a previous heatwave that affected much of the U.S. in late June and early July.