Greene County flooding results in $1M in public damages

The Springfield-Greene County Office of Emergency Management today announced it received 656 flood damage reports related to last week’s historic rainfall.

The OEM estimates the up to 12 inches of rain Dec. 26-28 resulted in $982,786 in public infrastructure damages and costs for public safety response, according to a news release. The total included water rescue, damages to roads, utilities, parks and schools, and debris removal.

According to the release, 630 of the reports were residential, 16 were commercial and 10 were agricultural. Officials with the Federal Emergency Management Agency, the Missouri State Emergency Management Agency and the Small Business Administration are scheduled to conduct additional damage assessments during the coming weeks, according to a news release.

Flooding in Greene County led to 120 water rescues, two fatalities and no injuries, according to the release.

OEM spokeswoman Erin Hedlun said the over 6 inches of rainfall Dec. 26 broke the previous single-day record of just over 3 inches set in 1942. She said December also was the wettest December on record for Springfield, and 2015 had the fourth-most rain on record for the Queen City.

Damaged businesses included Republic Ford Lincoln Inc., where some 103 vehicles were totaled, and Carson’s Nurseries, which reported minor damages.