Flash flooding blamed for 5 deaths in Missouri, including 2 poll workers

ST. LOUIS — A couple in their 70s who served as election poll workers were among at least five people killed in Missouri after torrential rains caused flash flooding across the state.

Up to 8 inches (20 centimeters) of rain fell over two days in parts of Missouri, leading to widespread flooding and dozens of water rescues. It was part of a storm system that also spawned tornadoes in Oklahoma and Arkansas.

In Wright County, Missouri, a county of about 19,000 residents 210 miles (340 kilometers) southeast of Kansas City, a 70-year-old man and 73-year-old woman were in a vehicle swept away by flooding at Beaver Creek around 4:30 a.m. Tuesday, the state patrol said. The bodies of the couple from Manes, Missouri, were found more than four hours later.

Wright County Clerk Loni Pedersen confirmed that both of the people who died were poll workers.

“This is a tragic loss for Wright County,” Pedersen said in an email. “They were dedicated citizens who valued fair and honest elections.”

Three people in two other cars swept away by the fast-rising creek were able to swim to safety, the patrol said.

Two other deaths were reported in St. Louis County. Firefighters were called Tuesday morning after a submerged SUV was spotted near flooded Gravois Creek, near Interstate 55. Crews broke through the sunroof and pulled out a woman, who was pronounced dead, Lemay Fire Protection District spokesperson Jason Brice said.

Hours later, a man’s body was found in the same flooded creek, Brice said. Authorities were investigating how the body got there. Fire crews rescued 10 other people from flooded vehicles, Brice said.

On Monday, Missouri state troopers recovered a 66-year-old man’s body after a car was swept off a bridge in Ironton, about 90 miles (145 kilometers) south of St. Louis.

The National Weather Service said four likely tornadoes, and possibly more, touched down in parts of Oklahoma and Arkansas on Monday. There were no reports of deaths or injuries from the tornadoes.

Keli Cain, spokesperson for the Oklahoma Department of Emergency Management, said assessments of the damage were underway.

The storms struck a day after tornadoes injured at least 11 people in the Oklahoma City area in central Oklahoma.

Cain said the department worked with the Oklahoma State Election Board to ensure that polling places were not disrupted.