Hundreds of frightened children were flown out by Black Hawk military helicopters after fast-rising floodwaters overwhelmed a summer camp in Missouri.
Relentless downpours triggered flooding that forecasters characterized as a once-in-1,000-years event, submerging roads and inundating buildings across the area.
As water levels climbed on Friday, anxiety grew that the disaster could echo last summer’s deadly Camp Mystic tragedy in Texas, where 25 campers, two counselors and the camp’s executive director were killed.
The latest emergency unfolded at Camp Taum Sauk in Reynolds County, where floodwaters from the Black River cut off the remote site and left hundreds of campers and staff stranded after access roads vanished beneath the current.
By Friday afternoon, the Missouri Army National Guard had deployed Black Hawk helicopters to rescue about 200 campers and counselors, transporting them to a nearby elementary school where anxious parents were reunited with their children.
Jennifer Box, whose two sons were staying at Camp Taum Sauk, said the first warnings about flash flooding instantly brought the Camp Mystic catastrophe to mind.
‘It was very harrowing,’ Box told the New York Times, recalling an email she received Friday morning that said the children had been moved to higher ground as a safety measure.
‘We knew they were safe, but we didn’t know how to get to them, and that’s kind of your worst nightmare.’
Missouri National Guard evacuated young campers and counsellors who were stranded at a summer camp in Reynolds County, in Arcadia, Missouri
It was one of several rescues in the state amid once-in-a-millennium flooding
The children took it in their stride as they got a birds eye view of the flooding that had occurred
Children and their parents were rescued from the Black River Lodge in Lesterville, Missouri
As rain pounded the Ozarks overnight, camp staff sprang into action.
Around 2am Friday, dozens of girls sleeping in low-lying cabins near the river were awakened and evacuated to the camp cafeteria.
But as floodwaters continued rising and began creeping toward that building as well, campers were forced to move again, this time to higher ground near the camp’s tennis courts.
The girls passed the frightening hours making friendship bracelets, playing board games and working on arts and crafts while waiting to be rescued.
Meanwhile, boys housed on higher ground remained in their cabins, listening to the radio and talking while staff monitored the rapidly deteriorating situation.
Outside the camp, frantic parents exchanged scraps of information through group messages as roads became impassable and floodwaters continued to rise.
The emergency unfolded after powerful thunderstorms repeatedly tracked across the same region on Thursday night, dumping extraordinary amounts of rainfall.
Meteorologists refer to the phenomenon as ‘training,’ where storm cells repeatedly move over the same area like railcars traveling along a track.
One parent said the kids seem unfazed after they were airlifted to safety in the military choppers
An aerial view shows catastrophic floodwaters inundating large swaths of southeastern Missouri after torrential rain triggered a once-in-a-thousand-years flooding event
Missouri State Emergency Management Agency posted these flooding photos
The Florissant Valley Fire Protection District posted pictured of their rescue operation
Lead National Weather Service meteorologist Matt Beitscher said locations across southern Missouri received between six and more than 12 inches of rain, with the heaviest totals falling around Reynolds County.
‘That was probably where the worst of it was,’ Beitscher said.
Shortly before midnight, flash flood warnings were issued for Reynolds County and neighboring Iron County.
By 4am Friday, the National Weather Service escalated the danger to its highest warning level, issuing a Flash Flood Emergency.
‘This is a particularly dangerous situation,’ the warning stated. ‘Seek higher ground now!’
The National Weather Service later described the deluge as a once-in-a-thousand-years rainfall event.
State officials rapidly mobilized emergency resources.
Floodwater surrounds homes, roads and farmland as emergency crews respond to widespread flooding across southern Missouri
More devastation was visible from the skies
Emergency workers are seen handling flash flooding in Lesterville, Missouri
Rescuers are now walking the riverbanks as they move downstream, methodically searching buildings, debris and anything else they find
The Patrol is also checking additional locations today to make sure everyone is accounted for and to help anyone or agencies in need of assistance
Governor Mike Kehoe declared a state of emergency and activated the Missouri National Guard along with specialized search-and-rescue teams as floodwaters trapped residents across multiple counties.
Late Friday, Kehoe said hundreds of people had been rescued from floodwaters, rooftops, trees and stranded vehicles.
‘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,’ the governor said.
Authorities warned the Black River was expected to crest above 28 feet near Annapolis, a level forecast to break previous records.
The flooding extended far beyond Camp Taum Sauk.
At the Bearcat Getaway Campground near the Black River, campers climbed onto the roof of a building to escape the rising water, but the structure eventually collapsed beneath them.
‘Between the weight and the constant waters underneath it, it just gave away on them,’ Missouri Highway Patrol Sgt. Eddie Young said.
Elsewhere in Reynolds County, three people stranded in trees above the raging Black River had to be rescued by emergency crews.
Two rescue boats also capsized in the floodwaters, although all first responders were safely recovered, according to the Reynolds County Sheriff’s Office.
The disaster also turned deadly. Authorities confirmed Saturday that Faith Gregory, who had gone missing after floodwaters ripped her home from its foundation in Crawford County, had been found dead.
Authorities confirmed Saturday that Faith Gregory, 23, who had gone missing after floodwaters ripped her home from its foundation in Crawford County, had been found dead
A lone horse can be seen stranded in the floodwaters that now flow across a Missouri highway
Rescuers are seen approaching one of the many flooded campgrounds in the area
Volunteers discovered her body roughly 1.8 miles downstream from her home in Huzzah Creek.
‘This is not the outcome that any of us were hoping for,’ the Crawford County Sheriff’s Office said.
‘Our thoughts and prayers are with Faith’s family, friends, and all those affected by this tragic loss.’
Officials said no one else remained unaccounted for in the county.
Even after the frightening evacuation, many of the children viewed the helicopter rescue as an unforgettable adventure.
‘When I first heard we were getting on helicopters, I was kind of scared,’ said Everett Box, 11, attending Camp Taum Sauk for his third summer.
‘Then I kind of warmed up to it and was super excited to go on it.’
Fellow camper Cate Hensley, also 11, said the transformation of the landscape was almost impossible to comprehend.
A recreational vehicle is wedged between trees on the banks of the Black River after flash flooding caused water levels to rise and flood the campsite in Lesterville, Missouri
It was a similar story across southeastern Missouri as floodwaters took hold
Dozens of mobile homes were in similar situations having been washed into the river
This Jeep was solidly embedded into the sandbanks of one of the flooded rivers
Flood damage left part of a Missouri bridge washed away as torrential rain destroyed roads and critical infrastructure across the state
An aerial view shows swollen floodwaters surging beneath a bridge on Missouri State Highway 21 after relentless storms inundated southeastern Missouri
Trey Millard, left, of Columbia, Missouri, throws a box to his dad, Rob, right, across broken County Road 364 as his brother, Ky, prepares to hand off a baby carrier in Lesterville on Saturday. The Millards spent the last week camping and were planning as the floods came
The campground at Twin Rivers Landing Campground in Lesterville, Missouri is unrecognizable as flood water takes over
A building sits partially submerged as historic floodwaters engulf Twin Rivers Landing during Missouri’s devastating flash flood emergency
Route 21 at Paynes Branch in Reynolds County was partially washed away by the currents
On Thursday she said the Black River was barely visible from her cabin.
By Friday morning, she could no longer tell where the river ended and the road began.
Her cabin was left covered in broken glass, preventing her from retrieving her belongings.
Despite everything that happened, Cate’s mother, Melissa Hensley, said the frightening ordeal had not changed how her family viewed the camp.
‘This is their happy place,’ she said. ‘They plan for this every single year.’
Camp Taum Sauk later thanked the emergency responders who carried out the dramatic airlift, writing on Instagram: ‘We are beyond thankful for your help keeping our camp community safe.’
