After three months of flooding, the water has finally receded from the swollen Missouri River and the cleanup work has begun.
Missouri Baptist Disaster Relief is assisting homeowners affected by the unusual flooding in northwest Missouri this summer. Leighton Clemons is a disaster relief volunteer and state coordinator of Baptist Builders.
“The damage is so widespread, it’s all over,” said Leighton Clemons. “The water didn’t get that deep, but it stayed for three months.”
As a result, many homes have serious damage and mold growth. The flooding was caused by excessive rains in Montana this spring. The water was stored in upstream reservoirs and released at record levels on the Missouri River. Residents had about two weeks warning before flooding began in June, so most salvaged their belongings. However, their lives were seriously disrupted. Sections of highway were washed away and some holes created by flooding are reportedly 60 feet deep. A Missouri State trooper apparently drowned while on water patrol and his body has not yet been recovered.
Baptist volunteers have begun helping residents in the small towns of Watson and Corning, with projects coordinated with local churches. Relief crews helped an elderly man who was born and lived all his life in the same house, which was flooded. Each day, he drove his tractor across the flooded fields to check on his house. Clemons said the man, who is not a church member, was astounded that the volunteers would not accept money and has since been telling everyone he meets about their work.
“It’s made a tremendous difference in their lives,” Clemons said. At one house, mud-out crews cleared four inches of mud from the basement.
“The people are suffering and they need help.”
Only three families have returned to the town of Corning, but he believes Baptist volunteers may change that.
“If they see they can get help, they may come back.” Clemons said the Baptist Builders expect to work with the same homeowners to help them rebuild after cleaning out flood damage.
Flooding was most severe along the western edge of Atchison, Holt, Buchanan and Platte counties. In some areas, the water is just now receding and assessments will be made, said Rick Seaton, disaster relief specialist with the convention.
“We don’t know what we’ll be able to do,” Seaton said. “In some cases, there won’t be anything we can do.”
Baptists are working with FEMA and local agencies to coordinate cleanup. Because the water remained in the houses for so long, some will not salvageable. Building codes and floodplain regulations are also being changed in some areas along the Missouri River.
The St. Joseph Baptist Association is in the process of equipping a mud-out trailer, said Monica Timmer, disaster relief coordinator with the association. Assessments are expected to begin Nov. 1, with volunteers starting to work as soon as possible.
SUSAN MIRES/contributing writer