The St. Louis area was hit by extensive flash flooding early on Tuesday morning as a result of record rainfall, which resulted in the death of one person, the displacement of a large number of people, and the need for rescues from both automobiles and residences.
The discovery of an automobile in St. Louis that was submerged in more than eight meters of water resulted in the death of one individual. A facility that housed the stray dog rescue organization Stray Paws Adoptables in St. Peters, Missouri, got flooded, resulting in the drowning deaths of many young dogs and pups. Other dogs were rescued from the building by firefighters using boats.
After a tremendous deluge dumped more than 12 inches of rain in some portions of St. Charles County and up to 10 inches of rain elsewhere in the St. Louis metropolitan area, considerable damage was caused across the region. The majority of the rainfall occurred in a very short period of time just after midnight.
The previous daily record for rainfall at Lambert Airport was 6.85 inches, which was set on August 20, 1915, when the remnants of the hurricane that had been in Galveston, Texas, moved north to St. Louis. By noon, approximately 9 inches of rain had fallen at Lambert Airport, destroying the record and setting a new daily record. The remainder of this week was predicted to see further storms, according to the forecasters.
Rescue operations in the water kept the firefighters busy. As a result of water flooding the highways, several stretches of the interstates 70, 64, 55, and 44 were each closed at different periods. A number of drivers reported being stuck in their vehicles for a considerable amount of time on social media.
After the flood entered many residences in the city of St. Louis, the St. Louis Fire Department rescued residents who were trapped inside their homes. During a press conference, the Chief of the Fire Department Dennis Jenkerson said that several residences had sustained substantial damage, and that the weight of the water was causing some roofs to collapse.
More than one hundred individuals were rescued around the area by firemen and other first responders, the majority of them were from automobiles that were attempting to drive across water-covered highways.
“We’ve had a tremendous amount of cars that have been door-deep and also roof-deep in some of these low-lying areas,” Jenkerson said.
A vehicle discovered in a neighborhood close to Forest Park soon after 10 in the morning had water that reached up to its top. One person was taken out; however, he was pronounced dead. The identity has not been made public at this time.
Residents of the community of Brentwood, which is located in St. Louis County, had little choice but to leave their homes after Deer Creek became flooded. Ladue is one of the richest communities in Missouri, and rising floods posed a danger to the mansions there as well.
Because of the severe flooding, the world-famous Gateway Arch was forced to shut for the day.
According to a report by Marshall Pfahler, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service, a storm became stationary over the St. Louis region before midnight and continued to dump rain over the same very narrow band.
“You have this swath of up to 10-inch amounts, and a county or two south they had a trace or even less,” Pfahler said.
While the St. Louis area was hit the hardest, other parts of the state and the country also were drenched. More than 6 inches of rain fell on the town of Mexico, which is located in central Missouri. There were reports of comparable amounts of rainfall in parts of southern Illinois. Mike Kehoe, the Lieutenant Governor of Missouri, issued a state of emergency. He was doing these duties on behalf of Governor Mike Parson, who is now away on official business promoting trade in other countries.
