Remnants of Hurricane Ike cause dangerous floods in Midwest
The governors of Ohio, Kentucky and Illinois declared states of emergency.
Published Sept. 19, 2008
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The Providence Landing on the Katy Trail near Perche Creek remains under several feet of water five days after weekend flooding in Boone County. McBaine, which is downstream from Perche Creek, suffered severe flooding, forcing residents to evacuate.
After Hurricane Ike left vast parts of the Gulf Coast reeling last weekend, mid-Missouri was struggling to dry from massive rains that flooded rivers and resulted in one death in Columbia.
The remnants of Ike poured heavy rain across the Midwest, prompting the governors of Ohio, Kentucky and Illinois to declare states of emergency. The National Weather Service bureau in St. Louis projected that the Mississippi River could reach as high as 36.72 feet in St. Louis on Friday, more than six feet above flood stage for that river.
The Missouri River, which is considered at flood stage at 21 feet, will reach 27 feet in Hermann and 25 feet in Jefferson City on Friday.
The Missouri State Emergency Management Agency said Tuesday that rains flooded 200 state roads and highways.
Emergency Management Agency spokeswoman Susie Stonner said many of the areas of Missouri along the rivers have not yet cleared, meaning the agency had little more than rough estimates of the extent of the damage.
"There's a lot of backup flooding from the tributaries, in some areas the rivers have not receded," Stonner said.
Stonner said the agency does not have very many specifics about flood damage, as they conduct investigations after local emergency management teams have concluded their efforts.
"We're in the process of setting up a series of damage assessment visits," Stonner said. "The local governments tell us if they want us to come and when to come."
Doug Cramer, who works in the Springfield, Mo., office of the National Weather Service, said several of the state's main rivers have flooded.
He said southern Missouri's most affected rivers were the Little Osage and the Marmaton River, a tributary of the Little Osage. Cramer said those rivers, along with the Finley River, near Springfield, were the hardest hit, reaching the moderate flood category, which is 5 to 7 feet above flood stage.
"The flooding was actually quite widespread," Cramer said. "We had several water rescues across southwest Missouri, which was all a result of 2 to 6 inches of rainfall associated with the remnants of Ike."
Ike's remnants were blamed for 40 deaths across 10 states from Texas to Ohio. The storm caused a sudden tornado in Arkansas and was responsible for hurricane force winds in Ohio.
