Swiftwater Team completes 2 rescues in flash flooding

Portions of Barry County saw more than 6 inches of rainfall from 4 p.m. on Thursday through Friday, leading to extensive road flooding, but sparing most buildings.

David Compton, Barry County Emergency Management director, said the central area of the county, over Mark Twain National Forest and north of Shell Knob, received the most rainfall.

“Based on radar-indicated rainfall, the central part of the county got upwards of 6 inches [by Friday morning], and the rest of the county saw about 3.5 inches,” he said. “By the end, some areas had over 6 inches, but the majority saw 5-6 inches. Isolated areas may have received 6-7 inches.” Compton said in the past 30 days, areas of Barry County have seen 10-15 inches of rain, and most of the county has had at least 8 inches.

“That’s quite a bit for March,” he said.

Flat Creek crested at 23.32 feet at 8:45 a.m. Friday, and Compton said the highest he’d ever seen it is 25.9 feet when it broke its banks in 2017.

“This is still a high reading, probably in the top five I’ve seen,” he said. “It’s normally at 4 feet, and flood stage is 7 feet, so we saw some moderate flooding.”

While Flat Creek rose Friday morning, Roaring River fell after crests of 7.15 feet at 7:55 p.m. Thursday and 7.06 feet at 3 a.m. Friday. Continued rains brought the river up to 4.93 feet on Friday afternoon, and it has been falling ever since.

On Monday at 11:45 a.m., Flat Creek had fallen to 7.2 feet, and Roaring River was at 1.48 feet.

Joel Topham, Roaring River State Park natural resources manager, said Campgrounds 2 and 3 were evacuated at about 5:30 p.m. Thursday, both seeing flooding. Campground 1 was evacuated at about 9 p.m.

“In talking with NOAA, they said it was likely to go back up again and possibly be a record, so we pulled the plug and got everyone out,” Topham said.

Topham described the river on Friday as chocolate brown milk with large chunks of debris. He said the bridges were cleared, and staff was focused working on the roads at Campground 2.

Campground 3, he said, would receive attention on Monday.

“We have quite a bit of flow and debris,” he said. “We are waterlogged, but everyone got out well before the river crested.”

Table Rock Lake, Compton said, was at 916 feet on Friday morning, below the flood stage of 931.

“When it gets above 933-934 is when we get worried,” he said. “Table Rock crested at 920.98, and [as of Monday], the dams were releasing more than 20,000 cfs and have been since Friday.”

Compton said flooding was widespread throughout the county, especially on Thursday night.

“The city of Cassville saw a lot of street flooding,” he said. “Butler Hollow, Seligman, Flat Creek and Purdy all saw flooding. In Butterfield, water was up to the railroad tracks on Highway W, and we closed Highway 97 at Route T in Pioneer. When water gets that high there, it can flood those buildings. It’s been a while since we cleaned that creek out, and I suspect it is reclogged again.”

Highway 90 in Washburn, McDowell and Cato also all saw high waters.

“It’s all the normal trouble spots,” Compton said. “Hopefully, building damage will be mitigated, but there’s no doubt we will have road damage. As the rain slows and we get reports from road districts, we will go out, asses actual damages and put that package together.”

Drivers Thursday night may have had difficulty getting across the county, as at one point, all six state highways had closures simultaneously.

“Highway 37 was closed at the McGruder farm, Highway 39 was closed at Cato, Highway 76 was closed at Hilltop, Highway 90 was closed at Main in Washburn, and Highway 97 was closed in Pioneer,” Compton said. “If you tried to take Route B, you’d get shut down at Pioneer, and if you took Route C, you’d get shut down at McDowell. When that happens at the same time, it cuts the county into four big segments.”

The Purdy Fire Protection District, along with the multi-agency Swiftwater Rescue Team, responded to five calls on Thursday night, resulting in two successful rescues.

“Great partnerships allowed the rescues to be performed with ease due to the increased numbers of trained Swiftwater rescue technicians being placed on the scene,” District officials said.

Agencies on the team include fire districts and departments from Aurora, Cassville, Marionville and Monett, as well as the Missouri Department of Conservation Protection District was dispatched to a vehicle stuck in flood waters with the occupant trapped. Central Crossing requested the Swiftwater Team to respond, as well as the Department of Conservation and Barry County Sheriff’s Office. The Swiftwater Team accessed the vehicle and assisted the occupant to safety without issue.

Compton also said there was a family in a mobile home surrounded by water, but the family told authorities they were safe and supplied.