Flash flooding in Missouri leaves one person dead as 200 campers are rescued

Woman dies after her home is swept away as heavy rainfall batters parts of state, forcing rescues and evacuations

A woman was found dead in Missouri on Saturday after heavy rainfall battered parts of the state the previous day, forcing numerous emergency rescues and evacuations, including at a summer camp with more than 200 children.

The body of Faith Gregory, who went missing in Missouri’s Crawford county after her home was swept away from its foundation, was found by volunteers late Saturday morning. Her body was discovered about 1.8 miles (3km) downstream from her residence in Huzzah creek, according to the county sheriff’s office.

“This is not the outcome that any of us were hoping for,” sheriff’s office said in a statement. “Our thoughts and prayers are with Faith’s family, friends, and all those affected by this tragic loss.”

There was no longer anyone still unaccounted for in the county, which is about 70 miles (110km) south-west of St Louis.

The National Weather Service (NWS) issued flash flood warnings for the area as thunderstorms piled on one after another.

Several other states also faced the potential for severe thunderstorms and flash flooding as the slow moving storms moved southward.

The NWS said the severe weather affected a wide region stretching from the Ozark Mountains in southern Missouri eastward into much of the Ohio and Tennessee river valleys.

The storms could bring damaging winds, heavy rainfall and scattered flash flooding to the multistate region, with some places seeing impacts into Sunday, the NWS said.

In eastern Tennessee, flooding closed some roads and downed power lines, and authorities from Kentucky to West Virginia told people to be ready to seek higher ground.

Missouri’s emergency management agency warned that while the storms move south and out of the state, further thunderstorms could still bring additional flash flooding, especially in areas that have already received 6 and 12in (15 and 30cm ) of rain.

“It’s very, very popular place for recreation,” Matt Beitscher, a lead meteorologist with the NWS office in St Louis, 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.”

Friday’s drenching rains washed away roads around Camp Taum Sauk, trapping children and staff at the site in the small south-eastern community of Lesterville, according Sgt Eddie Young, with 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 in a post on Instagram, saying, “We are beyond thankful for your help keeping our camp community safe.”

Meanwhile campers at the Bearcat Getaway campground near the Black River, about 85 miles (140km) south of St Louis, climbed onto a building to get away from the raging waters but it then collapsed, Young said.

“Between the weight and the constant waters underneath it, it just gave away on them,” he said.

Three other people were trapped on trees on the Black River in Reynolds county and were rescued, Young said.

The Missouri governor, Mike Kehoe, declared a state of emergency on Friday and activated a search and rescue team to assist. He said late on Friday that hundreds of people were saved from floodwaters, trees, rooftops and stranded vehicles.

Several major roads were impassable due to flooding and damage, Kehoe said, warning that the Black River continued to rise and was expected to crest at more than 28 feet (8.5 meters) near Annapolis in south-eastern Missouri, 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.

In Reynolds county, two rescue boats capsized in the flooding, but other emergency personnel safely recovered the responders, the sheriff’s office said.

Meanwhile, a widespread and dangerous heatwave was building across the US on Saturday, with triple-digit highs expected in the south-west and Great Plains through the weekend before spreading eastward under a dome of high pressure that meteorologists say could trap oppressive temperatures for a week or more.

Forecasters advised people to stay hydrated and find places to cool off, warning of temperatures 15 to 25F (8 to 14C ) warmer than normal in many areas, including at night – especially bad for people’s health because their bodies won’t have a chance to recover. The heat dome was expected to 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 US in late June and early July.

Scientists say climate change from burning coal, oil and natural gas is causing intense, long-lasting heatwaves affecting large areas, along with other extreme weather events.