Historic rainfall in St. Louis causes flash flooding emergency with more than 6 inches of rain

Photography by Keith Getter (all rights reserved)/Getty Images

(ST. LOUIS) — A record amount of rain has poured down on the St. Louis area overnight as the area has recorded 7.02 inches of rainfall since midnight, which surpassed the old record of 6.85 inches set almost 107 years ago on Aug. 20, 1915.

The historic rainfall event is causing widespread flash flooding across the region Tuesday morning with some areas getting more than half a foot of rain in just a few hours.

Heavy rain will continue for St. Louis and its surrounding areas through Tuesday morning as thunderstorms sit over Missouri. However, a short break in the weather is expected Tuesday afternoon and into the evening but more heavy rain with flooding is expected to continue Wednesday morning.

The St. Louis Fire department says there’s been a report of a partial roof collapse and possible natural gas leak at the scene of a storage facility at St. Louis Zoo. Further details were not immediately available.

The fire department also says there are several vehicles trapped in high water with Rescue Squads responding in small boats.

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