Thirteen flood-related deaths have now been confirmed in Missouri. Gov. Jay Nixon announced the new total yesterday in Perry County, where a record crest along the Mississippi River is predicted.
Nixon said nearly all of those who died in Missouri were in vehicles that drove onto flooded roadways. He urged motorists to stay away from roads with even low levels of water because fast-moving current can push cars and trucks off the roadway.
Nixon has called in the National Guard to assist with flood-fighting efforts. They’ll be used to assist first responders in providing security in evacuated areas, and to help direct traffic away from road closures. Roads are closed in nearly 500 locationsacross the state.
A nine mile stretch of Interstate 44 is closed between Bowles Avenue and Route 109 in West St. Louis County due to flooding of the Meramec River. The closure is expected to last a few days. Eastbound I 44 near Jerome in Phelps County is open to traffic after being closed due to flooding. Westbound I-44 remains closed with traffic exiting at Rolla.
The rising Mississippi River and its tributaries are threatening to overtop 19 federal levees in the St. Louis area. Army Corps of Engineers officials say the threatened areas include Perry and Ste. Genevieve counties in Missouri, and Randolph County in Illinois. The levee protecting the historic downtown of Ste. Genevieve is not believed to be threatened.
A sheriff says the body of a fifth international soldier from Fort Leonard Wood who died in weekend flooding has been found. Pulaski County Sheriff Ron Long said the soldier's body was recovered yesterday. He was with four other soldiers who drowned in Pulaski County Saturday. The bodies of the other four soldiers were recovered earlier. Long says a Missouri State Highway Patrol trooper spotted the soldier's body Tuesday about 6 miles from where the soldiers' vehicle was swept away. The soldiers were on a temporary assignment at Fort Leonard Wood. Their names and native countries have not been released.
Record water released from dam on Missouri lake
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers says it is releasing a record amount of water from the Table Rock Lake dam in response to recent flooding. The Corps says it was releasing 72,000 cubic feet of water per second on Tuesday. The previous record was 69,000 cubic feet per second during floods in 2011. The Springfield News-Leader reports that means nearly 539,000 gallons are going out of the dam into Lake Taneycomo every second. Corps spokesman Miles Brown says the lake is still rising, causing more water to rush through 10 spillway gates and the hydropower turbines. He says the Corps currently doesn't plan to open more floodgates. The flooding has not affected the Shepherd of the Hills Hatchery directly below Table Rock dam.
Illinois inmates evacuated from flooded prison
Officials have begun transferring some inmates from a southern Illinois prison to other locations because of flooding. Illinois Department of Corrections spokeswoman Nicole Wilson says the maximum security Menard Correctional Center near Chester has had "minor flooding" in some cells. The prison remains on lockdown and visits have been suspended. The road leading to the prison remains closed from flooding. The facility houses nearly 3,700 inmates. State officials did not indicate how many inmates were forced to relocate. Prison officials say they hope to avoid having to shut down the prison's water service but have ample bottled water and portable toilets on hand just in case.
Body of drowning victim recovered in southwest Missouri
The body of a Kansas man who drowned during flooding in southwest Missouri has been recovered. Missouri State Highway Patrol Sgt. John Lueckenhoff says the body of 30-year-old Christopher William Forman, of Erie, Kansas, was recovered Tuesday from the Spring River. Forman's body was found one-third of a mile downstream from where his truck left a county road early Monday north of Carl Junction in Jasper County. Lueckenhoff says Forman drove into high waters and troopers saw him swept away as they were rescuing another driver. Forman is one of 13 flood-related deaths reported since the weekend. Gov. Jay Nixon's office has said 12 of the victims were in vehicles that drove into flooded roadways. Lueckenhoff says searches continue for two other suspected drowning victims in Pulaski and Polk counties.
Authorities identify man killed in Lawrence County flooding
Authorities have identified a man who was killed in flooding in southwest Missouri. The Missouri State Highway Patrol identified the victim as 37-year-old Christopher A. Sperandio, of Verona. Authorities found his body Tuesday on the shoreline of a stream in Lawrence County. The discovery was made after his vehicle was found downstream of a low-water crossing. He is among 13 people who have drowned in flooding in Missouri since the weekend. Twelve were in vehicles that drove into flooded roads.
