Southeast Missourians are working to recover from severe flash flooding that hit the region late last week.
The Black River hit record crests, rising to more than 28 feet. The floods also left one dead. The body of 23-year-old Faith Gregory was found in Huzzah Creek, about two miles from her Davisville home.
Reynolds, Iron and Crawford counties faced the most significant flooding. Gov. Mike Kehoe issued a state of emergency Friday.
Davisville was one of the areas to feel the brunt of the flooding, Crawford County Undersheriff Adam Carnal said.
"We had a lot of infrastructure that was impacted: bridges, roads, some roads no longer exist," Carnal said. "It's a lot of damage to determine a cost and amount, and we're still in that process currently."
Carnal said the Missouri State Emergency Agency will do a walkthrough of the damaged area along with the county commission to examine how many buildings were damaged. A spokesperson for SEMA said the initial damage assessments are ongoing for possible federal assistance.
Carnal said residents lost a lot, including food, water, hygiene products and animals.
"One of the bigger impacts that a lot of people don't think about too is livestock," Carnal said. "We've had a lot of livestock misplaced or missing and then also feed. All that stuff has been destroyed."
Carnal said the city is collecting donations for animal feed. The Davisville Historical Society is helping cleanup efforts.
Emergency personnel also led rescue operations at the Riversedge Campground in Lesterville, where about 40 people were evacuated.
"Some were on top of our bathhouse roofs," Riversedge Campground Director of Operations Becky Stull said. "Our lodges actually became kind of a hub where some of the flood victims were removed to and then we housed and sheltered them, [gave them] food, clothing, things like that until part of the roads could open enough."
Stull said about 60 people were evacuated from its Wilderness Lodge and a little under 200 people from its Black River Lodge.
"In 16 years, I've never seen anything like this out there," Stull said. "And that's what I've heard from residents and lifelong people who have been there."
Stull said everyone was evacuated last week, but RVs, cars and buildings have been destroyed. Stull said there's a lot that residents need now.
"These kids have lost all their toys, reading glasses to read all the documents that are coming in for people," Stull said.
The Lesterville School District had been a central hub for donations but it put a temporary pause on gifts but will ask for specific outstanding needs as they arise.
For longtime campers like Deanna Kuse, the floods caused her family to end their vacation at the Twin Rivers Landing campsite a few hours early. When conditions started to get too dangerous, they woke up their kids and decided to leave.
"My headlights were under the water," Kuse said. "That water was rushing through so fast."
Kuse said they lost all of their equipment left at the campsite, including air mattresses, chairs and bikes. She said they were able to come back yesterday to try and retrieve some of their stuff.
"We saw our tent on the tree, and it was completely wrapped around the tree, twisted up," Kuse said.
Kuse said the campgrounds were full of volunteers to help clean up the site.
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