Two men, one of them from West Plains, drowned after their vehicles were washed off of flooded roads Friday evening in West Plains.
The West Plains Police Department was assisted by Troop G of the Missouri State Highway Patrol, based in Willow Springs, in investigating the deaths and accident information was provided by the patrol.
The local resident is a 45-year-old who, at about 6:16 p.m. Friday, tried to cross a low water slab on Mustion Creek near Ramseur Road, the patrol reported. His vehicle was reportedly swept off the road into the creek, and he exited the vehicle.
He was pronounced dead at about 2:14 p.m. Sunday at the scene by acting Howell County Coroner Michael Pauly, who is also a deputy with the sheriff’s office.
At about 1:30 Sunday afternoon, the West Plains Police Department announced via its Facebook page that Ramseur Road had been closed between south U.S. 63 and London Road.
Tpr. K.L. Hogan investigated the accident, assisted by Cpl. J.R. Roberts.
It is reportedly the second drowning in Troop G for the year, compared to zero at this time last in 2024, and came minutes after the first.
At 5:55 p.m. Friday, the patrol reported, a vehicle driven by a 57-year-old O'Fallon resident entered the waters of Howell Creek near Missouri Avenue when it was washed off the road, and the driver left the vehicle.
The victim's body was located by Cpl. C.P. Chatman of the patrol and recovered by personnel with the West Plains Fire Department. The man was pronounced dead at the scene at 10:22 p.m. by Pauly, and the victim's vehicle was recovered some time later. He had been driving a 2020 Jeep Wrangler.
Troop G was assisted in the investigation by the Howell County Sheriff's Office and the West Plains Fire Department, Chatman added.
With numerous weather-related disasters over the past year in Howell County, Howell County Commissioners have decided to postpone the acceptance of bids for storm cleanup until after the flooding that happened over the weekend is declared a disaster by President Donald Trump.
Commissioners already had three disaster recovery projects on its to-do list, dating back to May 26, 2024, when a tornado and high winds caused property damage in the Mtn. View area during the Memorial Day weekend. That was followed by flooding on Nov. 6, and high wind and tornado damage throughout southern Howell County on March 14.
Presiding Commissioner Ralph Riggs explained that once a disaster declaration is made, the incident is assigned a disaster recovery number and funding requests related to recovery can be made. The county has enlisted the help of the South Central Ozark Council of Governments for grant application and administrative assistance with disaster recovery.
Debris removed by the county will be hauled to an area within the Heritage Business Park at Pomona, near SCOCOG offices, and officials will monitor receipts for debris removal and submit expenses for reimbursement through the Federal Emergency Management Agency, Riggs said.
Riggs added commissioners were out Saturday and Sunday taking photos of flood damage and as of Monday morning, no Howell County roads were impassable because of washouts, but there was some ponding of water covering roads near Pomona causing a road closure that was expected to be resolved by the end of the day Monday.
A washout at the railroad crossing at County Road 9510 in the Howell Valley area southeast of West Plains and a mile north of south U.S. 63 will be repaired as soon as county workers can get a load of rocks to fill in the damage, Riggs said.
At another railroad crossing on County Road 1820 in the Willow Springs area, train tracks were damaged by flooding, and the road was closed at 7 p.m. Tuesday, planned to remain closed through 5 p.m. today while those repairs are being made, Riggs said.
As property owners in West Plains contemplate clean up and repairs following recent flooding, the City of West Plains is reminding residents to secure local permits before repairing or rebuilding flood-damaged structures.
Anyone in West Plains with property damage due to flooding, regardless of whether it needs a permit to repair, is encouraged to report the damage to city hall, City Building Official Dustin Harrison said.
Permits are required for structural repairs as part of local government participation in the National Flood Insurance Program, providing eligibility for flood insurance, flood disaster assistance, state and federal grants and loans, and buyout funds for flood-prone property.
Local floodplain management ordinances require that permits be obtained for any construction or development activity in a floodplain area, including the repair or reconstruction of structures damaged by flooding.
“To put a nice little bow on it, we’re not trying to make anyone jump through hoops needlessly,” said city Public Relations Coordinator Cody Sanders, explaining the process of securing permits and reporting damages allows the city to access funding to continue to better prepare for future weather events.
With regard to permits, special conditions apply to substantially damaged buildings, in which the total cost of repairs is 50% or more of the structure’s preflood market value, said officials. If a building is found to be substantially damaged, regulations require that repairs not begin until compliance with the local floodplain ordinance is demonstrated. In some cases, that may require repairs that include elevating or flood-proofing the structure to reduce the potential for future flood damage, they added.
The cost to repair must be calculated for full repair to "pre-damaged" condition, even if the owner elects to do less. The total cost to repair includes structural and finish materials as well as labor. If labor and materials have been donated they must still be assigned a value. If local building codes require the structure to be repaired according to certain standards, these additional costs must be included in the full repair cost for the structure.
State and federal assistance may be available to property owners to reduce the chances of future flood damage. Mitigation assistance may cover costs of relocation, or for elevating or purchasing flood-damaged structures. Flood insurance may also provide up to $30,000 to protect a structure from future flood damage.
City officials noted that the two completed detention basins, out of four planned, made a noticeable difference, when comparing this weekend’s flooding to that of 2017. “We could tell a difference, said Planning Director Emily Gibson, noting the basins are not meant to hold water back completely, but to slow down the flow of it in hopes of reducing the impacts of flooding. She said one place the effects were evident was on Deatherage Creek in the northern part of the city on Saturday.
“It broke the bank a little bit, but it stayed,” she said, of the creek. “You could watch it up close. You could watch the creeks come up, go back down, come up again.”
Watch Saturday’s Quill for more in-depth coverage of the flood’s impact across the area.
Property owners and residents with flood-damaged buildings should contact Harrison at 256-7176 ext. 2288 or email planning@westplains.gov for more information on repair and reconstruction permits.
