What This Drone Footage Caught In Missouri Will Drop Your Jaw

Hundreds of people were evacuated in the cities throughout Missouri such as Pacific, Eureka, Valley Park, Cape Girardeau and Arnold, and many of their homes took in water and subsequent damage from the floods.

The flooding forced hundreds of road closures, including Interstates 55 and 44.

Sadly, at least 24 people were killed by the dangerous flooding in Missouri and the surrounding states. Out of the 14 deaths in Missouri, 13 were caused by vehicles being swept off flooded roads.

Flooding on the middle portion of the Mississippi River and some of its tributaries reached levels not seen during the winter months since they started keeping records in the middle 1800s.

"Devastating, record flooding has affected hundreds of homes and businesses across the St. Louis region and left a trail of destruction and debris," Gov. Nixon said in a press release." "Missouri response agencies, businesses, volunteers and citizens have responded heroically to the challenges, and now as we work to recover and move forward, I'm requesting federal resources for debris removal to speed the recovery process and ease the burden on strained local communities."

As a result, President Obama signed a federal emergency declaration for Missouri, allowing federal aid to be used to help with local and state response efforts.

When areas around the Lake of the Ozarks reported in excess of seven inches of rain in a 36-hour period, Ameren Missouri began fighting to lower the water level. They opened all 12 floodgates of Bagnell Dam, nearly doubling the dam’s flow with the turbines at full capacity.

In spite of the floodgates opening, the Lake still rose past 660 feet (considered full pool).

When the floodgates were opened it also meant the Osage River would rise dramatically, reaching 10 feet higher than it was before the rains began on Christmas Day.

This was just the beginning of several days of the floodgates being open wider, the rivers rising even higher, and the rain continuing to fall.