Flooding at Lake of the Ozarks forces residents from their homes

Some Mid-Missouri residents were forced out of their homes by floodwaters Monday.

It happened in Camden County near the Lake of the Ozarks.

Emergency crews evacuated eight people and two dogs in homes near Route D and Ha Ha Tonka State Park, southwest of Camdenton.

“Any low-lying area in the county is pretty bad off right now, because again, those creeks are coming up so fast and they can’t drain enough,” Cpl. Scott Hines with the Camden County Sheriff’s Office said. “And then the lower parts of the lake area are really bad because they’re built in a flood plane.”

The sheriff’s office assisted in several water rescues Monday. Crews evacuated a family of four from their home near Cottage Lane in the Bauer Estates subdivision off Route D and two more families in the Sunrise Beach area, according to Cpl. Hines.

A resident on Cottage Lane told ABC 17 at least nine of his neighbors had to leave their homes Sunday night because of the floods.

Water rescues were not the only issue caused by flooding Monday, Hines said.

“The Missouri State Water Division of the highway patrol is actually out, so to speak, chasing docks that have come loose from their moorings with boats attached,” Hines said. “So there’s gonna be a substantial amount of property damage in that as well.”

Jack Davis lives on the lake near the Niangua Bridge. Davis said he was worried about his own dock floating away as rising water was submerging the walkway.

“Well you have the cables and you adjust the cables with the rise and fall of the lake, but we can’t get to the cables,” Davis said.

Davis said the lake has risen about three feet behind his home and is close to flooding some of his neighbors’ houses. He said it’s something he’s never seen before.

“I’ve been down here 12 years,” Davis said. “This is the worst I’ve seen.”