Flooding closes roads, threatens communities
Heavy rains continued Wednesday morning, causing continued flooding in south-central Missouri.
The National Weather Service has issued a Flash Flood Emergency for western Maries, eastern Miller, northwest Phelps and northwest Pulaski counties until 3 p.m. Wednesday.
Gauges in streams have shown record flooding, according to affiliate KSPR. The Gasconade River at Jerome reached 31.5 feet. An evacuation order is still in place for many Waynesville neighborhoods until 5 p.m.. but will likely not be extended.
Earlier Wednesday, the Missouri Department of Transportation closed U.S. 63 south of Vienna as well as I-44 at the 172 mile marker (Jerome) in Phelps and Pulaski counties because of flooding by 8 a.m.
Miller County officials declared a state of emergency just after 8 a.m. Presiding Commissioner Tom Wright cited “serious flooding” throughout the county.
Other highways throughout the area, especially in Miller County, were washed out and closed. Highway V to Highway 54 as well as Highway 42 around Iberia were closed.
Newburg, near Rolla in Phelps County started evacuating residents on Front Street in the overnight hours Wednesday because of rising water in nearby creeks and streams.
Gov. Jay Nixon was forced to postpone a roundtable discussion about disaster relief in Waynesville in Pulaski County Wednesday because of emergency operations there. No date or time had been decided on for a rescheduled discussion.
Nixon had declared a state of emergency in Pulaski County Tuesday, after a four-year-old died in a flash flood outside Waynesville. The boy was inside his mother’s car when it was washed downstream in a nearby creek.
The mother was still missing Wednesday morning.
Stay with ABC 17 News and abc17news.com for updates on this developing story.
