Summer Camp Evacuation Saves Dozens of Children Amid Historic Flooding
200 young campers rescued as flooding – Ann DeField expressed profound relief that her two sons and their fellow campers have returned safely to their families. The evacuation came after Camp Taum Sauk in Missouri became inundated with water during severe weather that swept through the central United States this week.
Benjamin, who is eleven years old, and his younger brother Teddy, nine, were among the more than two hundred children and counselors airlifted from the camp on Friday. The rescue took place in Lesterville, Missouri, following historic rainfall that drenched the region. Eight UH-60 Black Hawk helicopters, operated by approximately thirty-five members of the Missouri National Guard, extracted the campers from dangerous floodwaters. According to Governor Mike Kehoe’s office, the helicopters transported everyone to a nearby elementary school where families were reunited.
A Whirlwind Morning
DeField shared with NPR that her sons had been attending the week-long camp program for nearly seven days when she received text messages from other worried mothers on Friday morning. The messages reported flash flooding at the camp during the overnight hours. She explained that the camp had already notified her that children had moved to higher ground, and by afternoon, Black Hawk helicopters were conducting evacuations.
It was a whirlwind. And my boys, when they got home … I couldn’t hug them long enough.
DeField noted that she and her husband experienced more panic than their children during the incident. Teddy told NPR the experience was “really, really fun.” He described the helicopter ride: “We got to go on a Black Hawk. It was very loud and very cool and fast.” His mother added, “They were fine. They really just thought it was all a big adventure.”
Wider Regional Impact
The camp rescue occurred alongside serious flooding in other parts of Missouri and Kentucky, where emergency workers were rescuing stranded motorists. Governor Kehoe praised the response in a Friday statement: “Missouri’s first responders once again answered the call with extraordinary bravery, professionalism, and compassion, rescuing hundreds of Missourians from dangerous floodwaters.” He urged residents in flood-prone and low-lying areas to stay weather-aware, maintain multiple ways of receiving alerts, and be ready to take protective action as recovery efforts continue and additional rain is expected.
The governor’s office emphasized that people should check forecasts before leaving home and avoid driving through flooded areas. Officials noted that more than half of flood deaths in Missouri have historically involved victims trapped in vehicles. Kehoe declared a state of emergency on Friday after an overnight storm dropped as much as twelve inches of rain within hours across several counties. The governor’s office described this as “a 1-in-1,000-year rainfall event” in some areas.
Tragedy and Ongoing Concerns
Emergency responders also assisted those stranded by flooding, including Missouri Task Force 1, which deployed fifty members with rescue boats and special equipment, according to St. Louis Public Radio. At least one person has died from the flooding in Missouri. Faith Gregory, twenty-three years old, was found dead on Saturday in Huzzah Creek nearly two miles from her home, according to the Crawford County Sheriff’s Office. Gregory was swept away by flood waters on Friday morning, according to St. Louis Public Radio.
About one hundred miles south of St. Louis, the Black River was forecast to crest at a record level of more than twenty-eight feet near the small town of Annapolis. In both Missouri and Kentucky, the National Weather Service warned that some areas could receive over four inches of rain into Saturday evening. The NWS office in Paducah, Kentucky, stated on Saturday: “Another round of storms this afternoon into this evening may lead to excessive rainfall and flash flooding. The ground is well saturated across much of the area from recent rains, so rapid runoff is likely to occur in heavy downpours.”
As of Saturday afternoon, large swaths of Kentucky and Missouri, and parts of Indiana, Tennessee and West Virginia, were under a flood watch into Sunday. Kentucky has been battered by severe weather in recent weeks. Governor Andy Beshear declared a state of emergency on June 27 in response to “a severe weather system generating multiple periods of heavy rain, thunderstorms, and isolated strong winds.” At least six people died during that flooding in Kentucky, according to Beshear.
