At least 100 people had to be rescued on Friday after torrential rain led to flash flooding in southeastern Missouri, officials said.
Six to 12 inches of rain fell across the region in 24 hours, totals so rare that the National Weather Service called it a once-in-a-thousand-years rainfall event, meaning it has a 0.1 percent chance of happening in a 24-hour period in any given year.
Alex Elmore, a meteorologist with the Weather Service office in St. Charles, Mo., said that amount of rain was “extremely rare” for the area.
Flash-flood warnings were issued across the region, with some not expected to expire until later Friday, and a flood watch remained in effect through Saturday for parts of Missouri and Illinois. Gov. Mike Kehoe of Missouri declared a state of emergency.
“Over the past 24 hours, intense storms have created dangerous flash flooding across several regions of Missouri, resulting in multiple swift-water rescues,” the governor said in a statement.
Sheriff Chuck Helton of Iron County, one of the hardest-hit areas, said that about 100 people had been rescued across the county and neighboring Reynolds County. Officials started receiving distress calls at 3 a.m., he said.
Several homes had been destroyed and a few camper vehicles had washed away, Sheriff Helton said, and the county roads, most of which are gravel, were in “bad shape.” There were no reports of injuries or fatalities, he said.
“Everything’s saturated down here,” Sheriff Helton said.
The Weather Service, which used radar data to estimate rainfall totals, found that the highest amounts fell within a band spread between the towns of Saint James and Coldwater.
The Black River flows through the area, and a gauge in the town of Annapolis measured the river’s highest level on record on Friday. It crested at 28.73 feet at 12:45 p.m., overtaking the previous record, 27.38 feet, set on Nov. 14, 1993.
Dozens of people, including local residents and those visiting campgrounds, had to be rescued near the river after the waters rose, according to Steve Chitwood, a floodplain administer for Reynolds County.
Among those rescued were five campers staying at the Bearcat Getaway campground in Lesterville who went missing between 7 a.m. and 8 a.m. on Friday, Mr. Chitwood said.
They were found unharmed on Friday afternoon, he said. By that time, the weather had turned sunny and hot, but the region was expecting more rain on Friday evening, he said.
One lane of Route 21, a major artery in the area, was washed out, Mr. Chitwood said.
“We’ve had a lot of roadways covered in water,” said Patrick Walsh, a meteorologist with the Weather Service. “State and county highways were closed in the morning hours.”
In Crawford County, just north of Reynolds County, three people had to be rescued from floodwaters and the authorities were searching for a fourth person who remained unaccounted for, the sheriff’s office said on Friday afternoon.
The heavy downpours started Thursday evening and continued into early Friday morning as clusters of thunderstorms repeatedly passed over the same area.
The storm activity had temporarily eased by Friday morning, but more rain was expected in the state. Later on Friday afternoon and evening, storms are expected to bring an additional two to four inches of rain to southeastern Missouri, including in areas that received heavy rain overnight, with the risk of flash flooding likely to return.
A severe thunderstorm watch was also issued for portions of northern Missouri until 9 p.m., with winds of up to 70 miles per hour and possible hail.
“The additional rain could exacerbate conditions and lead to the worst of the impacts we’ve been seeing returning, with roadways flooded out,” Mr. Elmore, the meteorologist, said.
A few storms may bring more wet weather on Saturday, with drier weather likely on Sunday and into next week.
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