Flood — Butler, Missouri

2008-03-18 to 2008-03-22 · near Poplar Bluff, Butler, Missouri

Event narrative

Record flooding of the Black River occurred. At the Poplar Bluff gage, the river crested at 22.15 feet on March 19 at 4:30 P.M. CDT. The previous record crest was 21.68 feet in December of 1982. Flood stage there is 16 feet, and major flooding begins at 21 feet. Hundreds of homes were inundated, and the river even flooded parts of the downtown area. Residents were evacuated in south and east Poplar Bluff. Boats were used to evacuate many stranded residents. U.S. Coast Guard boats and helicopters from as far away as New Orleans assisted in evacuation efforts. The helicopters airlifted 37 people and six dogs to safety. Flood gates were installed for the first time since a flood wall was built in 1997. The flood gates offer protection up to 23 feet. Levee breaks were responsible for a considerable amount of the flooding in and around Poplar Bluff. The vast majority of the flooded homes and businesses were on the south and east sides of Poplar Bluff. At least five levee breaches occurred, resulting in many water-covered farms. Highway 53 was closed due to a levee break southeast of Poplar Bluff. Evacuation shelters were set up in Poplar Bluff. At least 100 victims stayed in a shelter at the Black River Coliseum in downtown Poplar Bluff. U.S. Highway 60 was closed when the river overflowed the four-lane highway west of the bridge. The community of Hilliard was severely impacted, where even the upper level of at least one home was under water. Some county roads were scoured down to bedrock. A large electric substation along U.S. Highway 67 was shut down by the river flooding.

Wider weather episode

Torrential rainfall between 9 and 13 inches fell in a 48-hour period, causing major to record flooding of rivers.

View location on OpenStreetMap → (36.7500, -90.4000)

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 84776. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.