Record rain brings heavy flooding to St. Louis area; 1 dead
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ST. LOUIS (NewsNation) — Record rainfall caused widespread flash flooding across the St. Louis area early Tuesday, killing one person, displacing many others and prompting rescues from vehicles and homes.
One person died when a car in St. Louis was found covered in more than 8 feet (2.4 meters) of water. Several puppies drowned when a building became flooded at Stray Paws Adoptables, a stray dog rescue operation in St. Peters, a St. Louis suburb. Firefighters in boats rescued other dogs from the building.
Damage across the region was widespread after a massive downpour dropped more than 12 inches (30 centimeters) of rain in parts of St. Charles County and up to 10 inches (25 centimeters) elsewhere in the St. Louis metropolitan area. Most of the rain fell in a few hours shortly after midnight.
By noon, about 9 inches (23 centimeters) of rain had fallen at Lambert Airport, demolishing the previous daily record of 6.85 inches set Aug. 20, 1915, when remnants of the Galveston, Texas, hurricane moved north to St. Louis. Forecasters expected more storms through the rest of the week.
Firefighters were busy with water rescues. Sections of interstates 70, 64, 55 and 44 were all closed at various times as water swamped the roadways. Some motorists took to social media to report being stranded for hours.
In the city of St. Louis, the fire department rescued people from several homes after floodwaters made it into houses. Fire Chief Dennis Jenkerson said at a news conference that many homes suffered significant damage, and some roofs were collapsing under the weight of the water.
Across the region, firefighters and other first responders rescued more than 100 people, mostly from vehicles that tried to pass through water-covered roadways.
“We’ve had a tremendous amount of cars that have been door-deep and also roof-deep in some of these low-lying areas,” Jenkerson said.
The water was above the roof of a car found just after 10 a.m. in a neighborhood near Forest Park. One person was pulled out but pronounced dead. Their identity has not been released.
In the St. Louis County town of Brentwood, residents were forced to evacuate when Deer Creek overflowed. Rising waters also threatened homes in Ladue, one of the wealthiest cities in Missouri.
Flooding was so bad that the iconic Gateway Arch closed for the day.
National Weather Service meteorologist Marshall Pfahler said a storm stalled over the St. Louis area around midnight and kept pouring water over the same relatively narrow band.
“You have this swath of up to 10-inch amounts, and a county or two south they had a trace or even less,” Pfahler said.
The remarkable rainfall followed a period of extended drought in the region. The ground was rock-hard before Tuesday morning and Pfahler said that may have played a small role in the flash flooding. A bigger factor, he said, was that the storm hit a metro area with a lot of concrete and asphalt, rather than grassy areas that could absorb the moisture more readily.
While the St. Louis region got the worst of it, other places were soaked, too. The central Missouri town of Mexico received more than 6 inches (15 centimeters) of rain. Similar rainfall totals were reported in parts of southern Illinois.
John Ward, left, and a firefighter help Lynn Hartke wade through the flash floodwater on Hermitage Avenue in St. Louis on Tuesday, July 26, 2022. (David Carson/St. Louis Post-Dispatch via AP) 
Steven Bertke and his dog Roscoe are taken to dry land by St. Louis firefighters who used a boat to rescue people from their flooded homes on Hermitage Avenue in St. Louis on Tuesday, July 26, 2022. (David Carson/St. Louis Post-Dispatch via AP) 
A tow truck driver moves to clear a flooded car as another rolls along Interstate 70 at Mid Rivers Mall Drive in St. Peters after heavy rain fell through Monday night and into the morning on Tuesday, July 26, 2022. (Robert Cohen/St. Louis Post-Dispatch via AP) 
Abandoned cars are scattered by flooding across a shuttered Interstate 70 at Mid Rivers Mall Drive in St. Peters after heavy rain fell through the night and into the morning on Tuesday, July 26, 2022. (Robert Cohen/St. Louis Post-Dispatch via AP) 
First responders from Central County Fire and Rescue and the St. Charles County Ambulance District transport an evacuated elderly woman from her home on Main Street in Old Towne St. Peters after flooding from Dardenne Creek inundated the neighborhood during heavy rains on Tuesday, July 26, 2022. (Robert Cohen/St. Louis Post-Dispatch via AP) 
Matthew Robinson holds onto his dog Bebe as and Kimberly Tat are rescued from their home by first responders from Central County Fire and Rescue along Main Street in Old Towne St. Peters after flooding from Dardenne Creek inundated the neighborhood during heavy rains on Tuesday, July 26, 2022. (Robert Cohen/St. Louis Post-Dispatch via AP)
The Associated Press and NewsNation affiliate KTVI contributed to this report.
This is a developing story; check back for updates.
