US Missouri Floods Leave One Dead, Army Black Hawks Rescue Over 200 Stranded Campers

Torrential rainfall triggered catastrophic flash flooding across southeastern Missouri, prompting one of the state's largest emergency rescue operations as US Army National Guard Black Hawk helicopters airlifted 202 stranded campers and counsellors from Camp Taum Sauk and emergency teams carried out more than 350 rescues across the affected region. Governor Mike Kehoe declared a state of emergency as authorities warned that additional heavy rain could prolong the crisis.

The National Weather Service said severe weather stretched from the Ozark Mountains across the Ohio and Tennessee river valleys, bringing damaging winds, torrential rainfall and widespread flash flooding. Missouri's Emergency Management Agency warned that areas already drenched by 15 to 30 centimetres (6 to 12 inches) of rain remained highly vulnerable to fresh flooding, while eastern Tennessee, Kentucky and West Virginia also faced flood threats.

Roads leading to Camp Taum Sauk near Lesterville were washed away, leaving children and staff stranded until Army Black Hawk helicopters evacuated them to a nearby elementary school, where they reunited with their families. At the Bearcat Getaway campground near the Black River, campers climbed onto a building to escape rising waters before it collapsed. Three people stranded in trees were rescued, while two rescue boats capsized during operations, though all responders were safely recovered. Officials said the storms represented a "once in a thousand years" rainfall event in parts of southeastern Missouri.

Authorities initially searched for Faith Gregory , whose home in Crawford County was swept from its foundation. She was later found dead about 1.8 miles (3 kilometres) downstream in Huzzah Creek, becoming the disaster's only confirmed fatality. Governor Kehoe said hundreds of people had been rescued from rooftops, floodwaters, vehicles and trees, while warning that the Black River could reach a record crest of more than 28 feet (8.5 metres) near Annapolis.