Flooding continues along rivers, creeks
The Spring River is still out of its banks, and some residents of Kendricktown were waiting as late as Tuesday evening for the chance to get back into their homes in the wake of flooding rains Monday and Tuesday.
Frank Miller, the owner of the Modern Day Veterans Club at North Garrison and Meridian Streets in Kendricktown said he had seen things a lot worse back in 1993, but this was still pretty bad.
Several homes along and south of Meridian Street were still flooded as of late Wednesday afternoon although the water was receding slowly.
"In 1993 you could barely see the rooflines of those apartments," Miller said on Wednesday, pointing to a set of blue apartments across Meridian Street from his club. At the time he said that, water was still knee deep in the front yards of those apartments.
The storm started before 6 p.m. Monday and lasted for the next 29 hours through 11 p.m. on Tuesday.
In that time, the National Weather Service's station at the Joplin Regional Airport recorded 3.71 inches of rainfall. The Carthage Water and Electric Plant on River Street reported 3.85 inches of rainfall over the same time, while the University of Missouri weather station in Lamar recorded 2.68 inches.
The Spring River at Carthage crested at 18.38 feet at 9:45 a.m. Wednesday, more than eight feet higher than flood stage, but about four feet short of a record flood event. As of 7:45 a.m. on Thursday, the river still stood at 13.42 feet, still well above the 10-foot flood stage.
The Weather Service predicted that the river would come back down below flood stage sometime Friday morning.
Other creeks and rivers in the area were well over their banks as well. Kathy Whited, who lives on Dogwood Road southeast of Carthage, had to be rescued when her car stalled out on the Center Creek Bridge on Dogwood Road about 3 p.m. on Wednesday.
Carthage Firefighters, using a backhoe driven by Dave Gaston and owned by James Remillard, drove out to Whited's car and got her out the passengers side window and into the backhoe's bucket where she was safely carried to safety.
"I didn't realize it was as deep as it was," Whited said after returning to dry ground. "I was out there for probably 45 minutes or an hour. Earlier I had crossed some water on Cedar Road and it was just a few inches deep. I thought that was what I had here, but by the time I got into it was too late to get out."
A barricade did let drivers know of the high water on Dogwood Road although it was not blocking the road when the Press reporter was on scene.
Forecasters say the area creeks should return to their banks by late Friday or early Saturday.
Carthage Press
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