Flood — Butler, Missouri

2011-04-24 to 2011-04-30 · near Poplar Bluff, Butler, Missouri

Event narrative

Major flooding occurred on the Black River. The river crested at 21.41 feet at Poplar Bluff, which was the third highest crest on record. The record crest was set only a few years earlier in 2008. The main levee from Poplar Bluff to the Qulin area was overtopped in more than three dozen spots, and a breach occurred in one spot just outside of Poplar Bluff. The part of the levee protecting most of Poplar Bluff, including the downtown area, was on the verge of failure for over 24 hours. Some homes in the flood plain were flooded, mostly in rural areas south of Poplar Bluff. Areas of south central Butler County were evacuated. A Red Cross shelter housed over 300 residents at times. Most area schools were closed during the crisis. Grain bins were flooded, though some of the crop was removed before the flooding could damage it. Numerous state and county roads were closed, including Highway 53. A couple of critical water rescues were conducted on Highway 53, where two motorists were stranded in submerged vehicles. The driver of a submerged pickup truck was found in chest-deep water, still in his seat belt. He was transferred into a boat and taken to dry land. In a nearby location, a van was swept off the roadway. It was found nose-up in a ditch. The driver was able to climb into the back of the van, open the doors, and step onto a fire department tanker truck that parked next to him. Hundreds of National Guard troops assisted with rescuing people stranded in homes and vehicles. A preliminary count indicated 53 homes and 23 businesses were flooded in south and east parts of Poplar Bluff, in addition to two churches and an unknown number of public buildings. Numerous additional homes were flooded outside the Poplar Bluff city limits, including the Qulin and Broseley areas. Parts of Qulin were flooded, including a number of homes. The flooding in Qulin was reportedly about the same as the 2008 flood. Between Qulin and Neelyville, residents of the Coon Island area were evacuated by special National Guard tactical vehicles. In the Neelyville area, about a half dozen or so people were evacuated by boat, and about two dozen others left on their own.

Wider weather episode

The Current, Black, and St. Francis Rivers rose above flood stage late in the month. A series of heavy rainfall events gradually forced the rivers upward at an unsteady rate. Another round of heavy rain in early May sent some of the rivers to record high flood crests. Impacts of the May flood crests will be included in the May report. Around 21 inches of rain fell across much of southeast Missouri in a ten-day period starting April 22. A persistent southwest flow aloft tended to steer storms northeast from the Plains across the mid-section of the country. Cold fronts tended to stall near southeast Missouri and the Lower Ohio Valley as they became more parallel to the upper-level steering flow. Bands and clusters of thunderstorms frequently developed in the vicinity of the front, producing heavy rainfall.

View location on OpenStreetMap → (36.7500, -90.4000)

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 292428. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.