The Waynesville flood drove Missouri governor Jay Nixon to declare a state of emergency yesterday when the flashfloods claimed the life of a 4-year old boy whose mother is still missing and presumed dead.
The body of the child was found near the Mitchell Creek and the authorities are still on the lookout for his mother whose car was hit by the floods between the Price Cutter grocery store and Waynesville Middle School. There are also multiple reports of missing people and people were forced to leave their homes. Even the emergency rescuers faced a challenge, as two of their boats were capsized.
The Waynesville flood left people clinging on tree branches as the waters raged swiftly downtown. Over 200 homes in the low-lying areas were destroyed, prompting people to find shelter. "The quickness of the storm, the depth of it, the amount of water that was flowing freely, caused havoc," tells Pulaski County chief sheriff's deputy John Groves. Mayor Luge Hardman says "Very heartbroken, a lot of them are. A lot of them are on fixed income, there's no place for them to go. They're very frightened. They're frightened about what's going to happen next week. I assured them that we're going to do everything we can,"
As for help, volunteers from 5 countries around the world are in the city. Mike Flanagan of the local American Red Cross said the chapter set up a relief shelter at the St. Robert Community Center. He said that by Tuesday noon, 35 people sought shelter. The National Guard are also set to be deployed for further help and assistance.
Mark Fuchs, National Weather Service hydrologist stated that there were more than 7 inches of rain that fell at Fort Leonard Wood near Waynesville from 12 midnight to Tuesday morning. Unofficial gauges nearby had 9 inches of rain.
At around 5 PM yesterday, Nixon lifted the evacuation order in order to clean up what the Waynesville flood left and to salvage what they can.
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