17 OFF ROAD WHEELS

Monday, March 24, 2008 %u2013 PIEDMONT, MO - It took less than an hour from the time the angry, muddy waters of the Black River entered the Black River Retreat neighborhood until it had engulfed all the homes there. Residents had to be evacuated by boat and many spent several nights at an American Red Cross shelter in the Harvest Baptist Church in nearby Piedmont. They had heartwarming tales of neighbor-helping-neighbor during the flooding and were full of praise for the assistance that the Red Cross continues to provide to help them get back on their feet again.

Torrential rains had been falling all week in southern Missouri raising the river eight to ten feet above its banks, flooding homes and sweeping a vast sea of debris before it. Homes were floated off their foundations. Propane tanks bobbed like corks in the torrent and disappeared downstream. Campers came loose from their connections far upriver and came to rest in carports and in back yards.

Driven from their home by flood waters

%u201CThere was no time to get out,%u201D said Jimmy Morales, an unfortunate homeowner. %u201COne of our dogs barked and I looked out the door and saw the water coming in a wave up the street. We only had fifteen to twenty minutes before it was right at our doorstep. It was about 9:00 a.m. on Tuesday morning.%u201D

Morales and his wife Jennifer had only time to flee as waist-deep flood waters poured into their front door. Both their cars floated away. They scooped up their two cats and brought them to their next door neighbor%u2019s two-story home for safety, and then Morales returned to his home to rescue their three dogs. He was able to take two of them to safety, carrying them on his shoulders, but their last dog panicked and swam away from him. During all this Morales was in his bare feet. He chased the dog around the yard until the dog became exhausted and took a precarious perch on the top of a chain link fence. Morales retrieved the dog, spraining his knee and stepping on a nail in the process.

%u201CThe water kept rising, and things kept hitting us in the legs as we fled to Joe%u2019s place next door,%u201D Morales continued. %u201CJennifer found Joe asleep in his recliner sitting in water to his chest. He was still watching TV, and when she woke him, he tried to change the channels. We really had a hard time to convince him to move upstairs with us so he would be safe.%u201D

Their neighbor is 93 and their actions probably saved his life. While the flood waters swirled around Joe%u2019s house and they huddled on the second floor, Morales looked out the back window and saw another neighbor trapped in his single-story home with his wife. They were unable to open their door or windows because of the pressure of the water against them, and had taken refuge on the kitchen cabinets. The water was still rising fast. Morales swam over and smashed a window so that they could escape.

Rescue workers had their hands full

Piedmont Police Department Corporal Michael Irions was one of the tireless workers who helped rescue residents from the flooding. Sometimes wading chest-deep in flood, Irions pulled people from their stranded cars, homes and shops surrounded by water.

%u201CMy police cruiser flooded out the water was so deep, so the Mayor and I used one of the city fire trucks to rescue people,%u201D said Irions. %u201CWe made several trips and picked up twenty five or more people on the fire truck until the water got too deep for it. The Missouri State Water Patrol and State Highway Patrol were also busy with their boats rescuing people from their rooftops and hanging in trees.%u201D

It was one of these boats that rescued the residents of the Black River Retreat to safety.

%u201CA neighbor came by with a canoe and helped some of us to the railroad grade where we were above the water,%u201D Morales said. %u201CEventually there was quite a crowd of us marooned up on the railroad tracks, maybe 15 to 20 of us, and we could hear others calling from their roof tops and porches. We were all wet and shivering. It wasn%u2019t until about 6:00 p.m. that night the [Missouri State] Water Patrol came by in a boat and rescued us all.%u201D

Allen Durbin lives a few houses down the road from Morales. When the river rose he had heard people crying for help from their rooftops, and he and a friend launched his jet boat to try and rescue them. Unfortunately, debris in the flood water almost immediately clogged the intakes to the boat%u2019s engine and they started to helplessly drift in the torrent. The boat was swept into a tree and capsized, throwing both men into the water. Durbin%u2019s neighbor was able to climb up on the overturned boat but Durbin could not.

%u201CI had my life jacket on and floated downstream until I was able to grab onto a log that had wedged itself into the fork of a tree,%u201D he said. %u201CThere I sat, up to my neck in the water for several hours until a boat ca

Monday, March 24, 2008 – PIEDMONT, MO - It took less than an hour from the time the angry, muddy waters of the Black River entered the Black River Retreat neighborhood until it had engulfed all the homes there. Residents had to be evacuated by boat and many spent several nights at an American Red Cross shelter in the Harvest Baptist Church in nearby Piedmont. They had heartwarming tales of neighbor-helping-neighbor during the flooding and were full of praise for the assistance that the Red Cross continues to provide to help them get back on their feet again.

Torrential rains had been falling all week in southern Missouri raising the river eight to ten feet above its banks, flooding homes and sweeping a vast sea of debris before it. Homes were floated off their foundations. Propane tanks bobbed like corks in the torrent and disappeared downstream. Campers came loose from their connections far upriver and came to rest in carports and in back yards.

Driven from their home by flood waters

“There was no time to get out,” said Jimmy Morales, an unfortunate homeowner. “One of our dogs barked and I looked out the door and saw the water coming in a wave up the street. We only had fifteen to twenty minutes before it was right at our doorstep. It was about 9:00 a.m. on Tuesday morning.”

Morales and his wife Jennifer had only time to flee as waist-deep flood waters poured into their front door. Both their cars floated away. They scooped up their two cats and brought them to their next door neighbor’s two-story home for safety, and then Morales returned to his home to rescue their three dogs. He was able to take two of them to safety, carrying them on his shoulders, but their last dog panicked and swam away from him. During all this Morales was in his bare feet. He chased the dog around the yard until the dog became exhausted and took a precarious perch on the top of a chain link fence. Morales retrieved the dog, spraining his knee and stepping on a nail in the process.

“The water kept rising, and things kept hitting us in the legs as we fled to Joe’s place next door,” Morales continued. “Jennifer found Joe asleep in his recliner sitting in water to his chest. He was still watching TV, and when she woke him, he tried to change the channels. We really had a hard time to convince him to move upstairs with us so he would be safe.”

Their neighbor is 93 and their actions probably saved his life. While the flood waters swirled around Joe’s house and they huddled on the second floor, Morales looked out the back window and saw another neighbor trapped in his single-story home with his wife. They were unable to open their door or windows because of the pressure of the water against them, and had taken refuge on the kitchen cabinets. The water was still rising fast. Morales swam over and smashed a window so that they could escape.

Rescue workers had their hands full

Piedmont Police Department Corporal Michael Irions was one of the tireless workers who helped rescue residents from the flooding. Sometimes wading chest-deep in flood, Irions pulled people from their stranded cars, homes and shops surrounded by water.

“My police cruiser flooded out the water was so deep, so the Mayor and I used one of the city fire trucks to rescue people,” said Irions. “We made several trips and picked up twenty five or more people on the fire truck until the water got too deep for it. The Missouri State Water Patrol and State Highway Patrol were also busy with their boats rescuing people from their rooftops and hanging in trees.”

It was one of these boats that rescued the residents of the Black River Retreat to safety.

“A neighbor came by with a canoe and helped some of us to the railroad grade where we were above the water,” Morales said. “Eventually there was quite a crowd of us marooned up on the railroad tracks, maybe 15 to 20 of us, and we could hear others calling from their roof tops and porches. We were all wet and shivering. It wasn’t until about 6:00 p.m. that night the [Missouri State] Water Patrol came by in a boat and rescued us all.”

Allen Durbin lives a few houses down the road from Morales. When the river rose he had heard people crying for help from their rooftops, and he and a friend launched his jet boat to try and rescue them. Unfortunately, debris in the flood water almost immediately clogged the intakes to the boat’s engine and they started to helplessly drift in the torrent. The boat was swept into a tree and capsized, throwing both men into the water. Durbin’s neighbor was able to climb up on the overturned boat but Durbin could not.

“I had my life jacket on and floated downstream until I was able to grab onto a log that had wedged itself into the fork of a tree,” he said. “There I sat, up to my neck in the water for several hours until a boat came up the river. We hollered but it didn’t see us. About an hour later another boat came by and saw us, and it rescued me and my