Outages still impacting Mid-Missouri as flood reports increase
Ryan Shiner
COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)
As storms continued to impact much of Mid-Missouri on Tuesday night, power outages continued to climb.
In Columbia at 8 p.m., there were nine reported outages impacting 2,510 utility customers. A number of outages were reported in West Columbia, though outages impacting a high-number of people were reported in central Columbia. That number came back down to 622 at 9:25 p.m.
“City of Columbia Utilities is experiencing multiple power outages. City of Columbia Utility crews are working to restore power as soon as possible. We ask citizens to be patient during this time,” city utilities wrote on Facebook.
Utilities spokesman Jason West told ABC 17 News in a text message that four crews have been called in to resolve the outages.
“There is a domino type effect going on. When one outage gets resolved another one pops up. Two more crews for a total of 4 have been called in, so it may not be longer than the original estimate [of a couple hours to get power back on for everyone],” he wrote.
The National Weather Service reported a water rescue near Paris Road and Vandiver Drive. Both lanes of Vandiver were closed at the intersection because of floodwater, according to a Boone County Joint Communications message. As of 5 a.m. Wednesday Paris Road and Vandiver Drive is back open.
The Columbia Fire Department spokeswoman wrote in an email that three vehicles were impacted by rising water, but no one needed to be brought to a hospital. Crews were called at 5:52 p.m. and the scene was cleared by 6:19 p.m.
In a press release, the department initially reported that three vehicles were impacted. However, Columbia Fire Safety Captain Wayne Cummins later clarified that two vehicles and three people were involved
One car had pulled off to the side, waiting for floodwaters to recede. The other, carrying two passengers, became stranded in the rising water. Rescue crews were able to safely get the passengers out of the vehicle and onto a nearby embankment.
These types of water rescues are dangerous. Cummins says one major risk is manhole covers.
“Any time that we have water in places where it shouldn’t be that creates hazards for the crews, hazards for us. We have manhole covers that oftentimes will get floated up. So if someone or us steps into that, because we can’t see it if we’re in the water, then we go down a storm drain,” Cummins said.
He added there’s also a serious risk of electrical hazards and moving water during flooding.
“Any time that we have water over the roadway, no matter how deep you think it is, do not drive in it because it does not take much water to actually get your vehicle disabled or start to move in the vehicle downstream with the water,” Cummins explained. “Just turn around and, you know, that’s the safest thing for them. Save for the scene for us to stay away from it.”
A number of streets around the city had flooded and multiple reports of vehicles getting stuck in the water were made.
Blackfoot Road at Bear Creek is currently closed due to flood as of 5 a.m. Wednesday after Boone County Joint Communication was sent Tuesday night.
Information from the US Geological Survey indicates that Hinkson Creek in Columbia rose from 3.8 feet to 12.4 feet from 5-10 p.m.
“Many of the streets and highways have flooded in low-lying sections. It’s hard to see flooded roads at night, be cautious,” a 10:11 p.m. notification from Boone County Joint Communications reads.
Data from the United States Geological Survey indicates that Hinkson Creek in Columbia rose more than 8 feet within five hours. [Courtesy USGS]
A lightning strike also occurred at the Columbia library, according to an email from Daniel Boone Regional Library spokesperson Mitzi St. John.
The ABC 17 News Stormtrack Weather Team had declared Tuesday a Weather Alert Day for the impending storms.
There were 154 Central Missouri Electric Cooperative customers without power in Pettis County, according to the Association of Missouri Electric Cooperatives’ outage map. That number grew to 370 by 8:18 p.m. The Sedalia Fire Department shared on its social media that it was responding to downed power lines around the city at 4:37 p.m.
The Sedalia Fire Department wrote in social media posts that firefighters had been called to several downed power lines, some of which sparked structure fires. Flash flooding was reported in Boonville and Moberly.
The same map showed that 70 CMEC customers in Saline County were without power at 4:50 p.m., while Ameren’s outage data indicate 97 of its customers in the same county were without power.
In Boone County, there were 493 Boone Electric customers without power around 5:50 p.m. There were 10 reported outages, with 17 at its peak. A number of the outages were reported outside of the Midway area. Outages were also reported near Harrisburg and Clark. The number of impacted customers fell to 135 by 8 p.m.
Centralia’s municipal utility reported an outage in the area of Allen and Green streets.
Cooper County saw roughly 800 people without power, with 701 Ameren customers being affected and 125 Co-Mo Electric Cooperative customers experiencing an outage. An ABC 17 News reporter saw water covering the street at the intersection with Ashley Road and Main Street in Boonville.
Howard County had a sizable outage with 521 Howard Electric Cooperative customers without power at 5 p.m. That number rose to 813 by 9 p.m.
Miller County saw a jump in outages during the evening to 2,677 Ameren customers without power. More than 3,000 customers had no power in Morgan County at 10:25 p.m., with Ameren customers totaling 2,356 and Co-Mo Electric Cooperative making up 828.
Camden County also saw 738 electric customers without power, with 671 coming from Co-Mo electric at 9:25 p.m.
Check back for updates.