BISMARCK, Mo. — Multiple evacuations are underway south of St. Louis as downpours caused flooding in numerous communities and pushed a levee to the breaking point Monday afternoon.
Flash flood warnings were issued for multiple Missouri counties Monday as a line of storms made its way through the area, dropping more than 6 inches of rain in some locations. More downpours are likely as the storms are forecast for the same areas on Tuesday and Wednesday, dousing areas already saturated.
"It’s the worst we’ve seen in a while," Reynolds County Emergency Management Director Michael Losh told 5 On Your Side. “There a lot of water, a lot of homes being flooded...I would say the severity is pretty high. We need to try and take some alternate routes and really stay away from the flooded roads”
The heavy rains come after the area was recently under a severe drought, which can contribute to the flash flooding effects.
A list of evacuations sectioned by county can be found below. They'll be updated as new information is released:
St. Francois County
The levee near Iron Mountain Lake is in danger of failing, according to St. Francois County Emergency Management.
"We strongly urge all residents in the purple-outlined areas on the map to consider evacuating your homes," officials said. "Although this is not a mandatory evacuation, leaving now will allow our first responders to focus on cleanup efforts and ensure everyone’s safety."
The Bismarck Fire Protection District also ordered an evacuation for the Iron Mountain Lake area below the dam on East and West Lakeshore Drive Monday afternoon.
Officials set up a command post at Iron Mountain Lake City Hall and shelters are located at the Bismarck Senior Center.
Voluntary evacuations are also taking place on Wayne Drive, Pike Drive, Iron Drive, and Ralls Drive in Iron Mountain Lake southwest of Bismarck.
"The biggest thing I'm worried about right now is since the rain has kind of slowed down or stopped is people coming back home and thinking that it's safe," Nick Jones with St. Francois County EMA said Monday.
Crews were able to help people find voluntary shelter at Bismarck Senior Center as they focused on surveying about 25 homes in the spill over area after the Iron Mountain Lake levee was in danger of failing.
"There has been a small hole in the levee for a little bit," Jones said. "But they've been trying to mitigate the problem."
Officials have known about the leak since the summer, Jones said. Now, they're trying to fix it as best they can, citing financial reasons as to why it hasn't been fixed fully sooner.
Crews are currently keeping an eye on about two dozen houses that would be in the direct path of the levee if it were to break, on Double End Highway and Indian Creak near the spillway.
"We've just been monitoring where that leak was in the levee," Jones said. "Then over the spill way, there was quite a bit of water coming over the top of the spillway. It's still coming over the spillway at this time but it has gone down quite a bit."
Jones added that fire crews will keep an eye on the water levels and will reassess the situation on Tuesday.
Reynolds County
Mandatory evacuations were put in place for around 30 homes on Circle Drive in Lesterville, according to the county's emergency management agency.
Officials are setting up a temporary shelter for residents at the Lesterville gymnasium. In the meantime, evacuees can take shelter at the Northern Reynolds County Fire Station 1. The FEMA building in Ellington is also reportedly open for shelter.
Officials had already made four water rescues in the areas as of Monday afternoon. They also said numerous roadways in the area are blocked by water.
No injuries have been reported.
