Power out, homes still under water in Camden Co. due to flooding

Rivers continue to rise across Mid-Missouri, and the Lake of the Ozarks has been above flood stage for days.

Homes are still flooded in Camden County after ABC 17 first reported at least 9 families had to evacuate their homes off Cottage Drive Monday.

The power is still out at many homes on Cottage Drive, and another family was moving out belongings.

The water has receded, but 4-5 homes are still partially under water in the neighborhood.

One neighbor told ABC 17 News there was about 4.5 feet of water in his home.

“If you can imagine opening your windows to let some air in, we were opening the windows to let water out,” resident Dennis Welch said.

Welch and some of his neighbors moved into a nearby empty house.

“We had to move up the hill, it’s probably a 40 foot incline between the house I’ve been standing in front of and my house,” Welch said.

Welch said the water around his home went down about three feet over the last two days, but said it will be at least another day before he can get inside to see the damage.

“We want to get in, get the house cleaned up, get the carpet ripped out of it, the drywall off the walls and start putting it back together,” Welch said.

Another resident ABC 17 talked to chose to stay in his home since the water had not gotten inside yet. Tuesday, he went to town to buy a propane tank and a flashlight to live inside the house without power. He had to park his car several blocks away and wade through the water to gt to his house.

“At this point, there’s probably a lot of people who aren’t staying in their homes, not because they can’t get to them, but because there is a severe amount of damage,” Cpl. Scott Hines with the Camden County Sheriff’s Office said.

Hines said flooding is still an issue. But with the water receding, emergency crews did not have to evacuate more residents Tuesday and deputies were able to get back to their normal patrols.

“We’ve been able to access areas of the county we couldn’t get to yesterday so we can check on folks,” Hines said. “And things are going a lot smoother today.”

Levels at the Lake of the Ozarks have gone down more than a foot since the lake’s peak Monday morning, according to the Bagnell Dam plant manager.