CRAIG, Mo:
Many northwest Missouri residents are still feeling the impact of the recent Missouri River floodings. The March floods forced many people in Missouri, Nebraska and Iowa to evacuate their homes and land. Some of whom have yet to return.
A winter of heavy snowfall followed by a rainy march forced the Missouri River to exceed it's banks, impacting multiple towns along the river's banks, many of which are small towns.
Craig, Missouri, a town of a little over 200 people was one of the many towns devastated by the March flooding.
The farm town of Craig sits on a flood plain six miles east of the Missouri River. Most homes are built off the ground with concrete slabs or wooden planks propping up houses two or three feet from the ground to brace for potential flood waters.
“It’s been really devastating. Many people have been forced to leave their homes and not all of them had somewhere they could just pack up and go to,” Craig City Clerk Missy Foster said, “families with pets are having a hard time finding a place to stay around the area since some people do not want to take in pets into their household.”
Craig community members have been cleaning up since the water receded three weeks ago and already one of a few local businesses, Paula’s Cafe re-opened for business on Monday following clean-up efforts earlier in the week.
“The local farmers around town were talking about them losing weight during the flood because they go to Paula's Cafe for lunch and dinner for their daily specials,” Foster said, “I went with our mayor and it was a long wait, but worth eating there as it brought back the memories before the flood.”
The local gas station, Speedy’s has yet to open and the nearest gas station is in Mound City, Missouri which is nine miles south of Craig.
The flood waters have moved away from the city of Craig, but there is still standing water around other areas in northwest Missouri.
The city of Corning Missouri, located nine miles north of Craig still has standing water in parts of their town, some of it reaching up to as high as four feet. The road in and out of Corning has been blocked by barricades but can be driven around by tractors or pickup trucks. The roads currently have less than a foot of standing water.
The recent devastation in the towns of Craig and Corning have prompted support from local towns and programs.
Church groups in both Hiawatha and Sabetha, Kansas have helped donate and clean up around the area. The Maryville United Methodist church and Southern Baptist from Central Missouri have also helped in the cleanup efforts and inmates from the prison in from St. Joseph, Mo, helped pick up trash and bring in dumpsters to get the debris out of Craig.
Maryville United Methodist donated a skid loader for a month as the town of Craig's skid loader was destroyed in the flood. RJ Coleman the railroad crew helped clean up and dig ditches for water runoff.
“It’s been amazing how people come together and help us,” Foster said.
