“A sight no one expected, but one that families won’t forget,” state officials wrote alongside footage of the July 10 emergency evacuation

NEED TO KNOW

• More than 200 stranded campers and counselors were rescued by helicopter after flash flooding at Camp Taum Sauk in Missouri on July 10
• The Missouri National Guard and local agencies coordinated efforts to ensure all evacuees were safely reunited with loved ones
• Missouri experienced record-breaking rainfall in a once-in-a-thousand-years event, prompting a state of emergency declaration

Hundreds of campers were rescued by helicopter from a Missouri camp and reunited with loved ones amid catastrophic flooding in some parts of the state.

As torrential rain caused dangerous flash flooding on Friday, July 10, first responders led emergency rescues across the state — including in southeastern Missouri, where more than 200 people were evacuated from a riverside camp.

The Missouri National Guard evacuated 202 “young campers and counselors who had been stranded” at Camp Taum Sauk, a long-running summer camp in the unincorporated community of Lesterville, Mo., according to the Missouri State Highway Patrol (MSHP).

The MSHP also shared a video of what appears to be some of the individuals rescued from the Reynolds County camp touching down near a playground in Arcadia, Mo., following the evacuation. About a dozen people can be seen running out of the aircraft in the footage captured by a sergeant with the MSHP.

“A sight no one expected, but one that families won’t forget,” the highway patrol post read. Elsewhere in the post, the MSHP shared that “everyone was reunited safely with loved ones.”

“We’re grateful for the coordinated efforts of all the partner agencies who worked together to make this happen,” the MSHP wrote alongside the video.

Camp Taum Sauk also thanked the agencies that helped to make the rescue possible in a statement on social media.

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“Thank you National Guard, Reynolds County 911 Emergency Responders, and the Arcadia Community,” the camp wrote. “We are beyond thankful for your help keeping our camp community safe.”

Dozens of other residents and campers were rescued after the Black River, which flows through the area, reached a record-breaking high level, The New York Times reported, citing a Reynolds County floodplain administrator. This figure includes five campers who went missing from nearby Bearcat Getaway campground in Lesterville early Friday morning, but were found later that afternoon unharmed, per the outlet.

Six to 12 inches of rain fell in southeastern Missouri in a span of 24 hours in what the National Weather Service (NWS) called a once-in-a-thousand-years rainfall event, per the Times. Missouri Gov. Mike Kehoe’s office declared a state of emergency on Friday due to the “dangerous flash flooding in the central, south-central and southeastern portions of the state.”

“Over the past 24 hours, intense storms have created dangerous flash flooding across several regions of Missouri, resulting in multiple swift-water rescues,” Kehoe, 64, said in a statement. The Missouri governor also warned that with more heavy rain expected to fall over the weekend, “the threat is not over.”

A flash flood and severe weather threat remains in place for southeastern Missouri on Saturday, July 11, according to the NWS. The threat “is serious and life-threatening for areas of southeast Missouri where rain fell last night, however the coverage of thunderstorms will gradually become more isolated through the day,” the agency said on Saturday.

“If you’re camping, floating, or spending time near rivers and streams, move to higher ground and stay alert of weather conditions,” the governor advised. “Missourians should continue to monitor local forecasts and follow the guidance of local authorities.”

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