Army National Guard troops in eight Blackhawk helicopters rescued hundreds of young campers from catastrophic flooding in southeastern Missouri Friday, while other first responders saved stranded residents using boats or choppers to snatch them off rooftops.
The helicopters rescued more than 200 “young campers and counselors after heavy rain washed away roads near Camp Taum Sauk in the small southeastern community of Lesterville, CNN reported per the Missouri State Highway Patrol.
The Army National Guard deployed the Blackhawk choppers and took campers to a nearby elementary school where they reunited with their families, according to the Associated Press.
The camp, located about 120 miles south of St. Louis, thanked emergency crews late Friday in a post on Instagram.
“Thank you National Guard, Reynolds County 911 emergency responders and the Arcadia Community. We are beyond thankful for your help keeping our camp community safe.”
The camp, founded in 1946, caters to kids ages eight to sixteen.
The raging waters, caused by heavy thunderstorms that caused the Black River to rise to a record high of nearly 29 feet, created life-threatening emergencies elsewhere as well.
Reynolds County emergency services also responded to a building collapse at nearby Bearcat Getaway Campground, a release from the sheriff’s office reported.
Search and rescue operations were launched for as many as 17 people “who may have entered the floodwater” in the collapse, the sheriff office said.
Miraculously, all those who were missing from the collapse were either rescued or safely accounted for, the sheriff’s office later reported in an update.
Also, according to CNN:
In nearby Crawford County, a woman remains unaccounted for after being swept into floodwaters that “rose dramatically in a short period of time” and washed away a wall in her home, a spokesperson for the sheriff’s office told CNN. Extensive search operations continued into the evening before being suspended due to darkness. The search is expected to resume Saturday morning, the spokesperson said.
Others affected by the flooding were rescued using “ground teams, watercraft, and aerial drone operations” amid “extremely dangerous” conditions, the Crawford County Sheriff’s Office said in a social media post.
National Weather Service issued its highest level of warning, called a flash flood emergency, for more than 4,000 people in parts of Reynolds and Iron counties early Friday morning.
By Friday afternoon, Missouri Gov. Mike Kehoe declared a state of emergency.
“Activating the State Emergency Operations Plan allows our agencies to move quickly, coordinate resources, and support local response efforts,” the Republican governor said. “I’m grateful for every first responder and local team member working around the clock to help save lives.”
Breitbart contributor Lowell Cauffiel is the best-selling author of the Los Angeles crime novel Below the Line and nine other crime novels and nonfiction titles. See lowellcauffiel.com for more.
