More than 200 children and staff were airlifted to safety from a summer camp in southeastern Missouri on Friday after overnight thunderstorms dumped up to 12 inches of rain, triggering flash floods that severed road access and left campers stranded across the Ozark foothills. According to the Missouri State Highway Patrol, National Guard Black Hawk helicopters evacuated the group from Camp Taum Sauk near Lesterville to a nearby school, where they were reunited with families. The camp later said on social media that all were safe.

Across the region, emergency crews conducted more than 90 water rescues, the Reynolds County Sheriff’s Office said. At the Bearcat Getaway Campground on the Black River, roughly 20 people climbed onto a building to escape rising water; the structure collapsed, but authorities later confirmed that all had been rescued and accounted for. Initial reports had suggested that 10 to 17 individuals may have been swept into the floodwaters. Three other people were pulled from trees along the river on Friday evening. Two rescue boats capsized during operations, though all crew members were recovered safely downstream.

One person remained unaccounted for in neighbouring Crawford County, where a house was swept from its foundation. Search efforts involving the sheriff’s office and state patrol were suspended overnight and were due to resume on Saturday morning. Governor Mike Kehoe declared a state of emergency, warning that the Black River was expected to crest at record levels near Annapolis and that further heavy rain was forecast through the weekend. Several major roads remained impassable or damaged.

The flooding occurred almost exactly a year after a flash flood at a Texas summer camp killed 25 girls, but as of Friday evening no deaths or serious injuries had been reported in Missouri. Flood watches were in effect for more than 21 million people across eight states, from the mid-Mississippi Valley to the central Appalachians. The verified toll remained provisional, with authorities stressing that the situation was still unfolding.