Senator Rupp: Preparing for Flood Disasters

(State Sen. Scott Rupp, R-Wentzville, has released his weekly column for the week of April 16. The opinions expressed in the column are those of Sen. Rupp and do not reflect the views of the Wentzville Patch. —Ed.)

Last year, Missourians experienced an unprecedented storm season, one that remains clear in many of our memories. Aside from experiencing violent tornadoes, Missourians saw extreme flooding of the Mississippi and Missouri rivers. Caused by a substantial amount of rainfall and heavy amounts of snow, flooding displaced countless Missourians and affected businesses and farmland. To give you an idea of the scale of the flooding, it was reported in September 2011 that the Army Corps of Engineers estimated that 37.5 million acre-feet of water flowed down the Missouri River from May to August 2011 — normal runoff of the river is estimated at 24.8 million acre-feet. Considering the fact that so much of our state is affected by the Mississippi and Missouri rivers, Missourians need to take flood safety seriously.

Last week, two measures — SCR 25 and SCR 16 — were passed out of the Senate regarding flood safety, and they’ve moved to the House for consideration. I was happy to offer my “yes” vote on both initiatives. Senate Concurrent Resolution 25 would strongly urge the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to:

• Re-examine the flood plan for the Mississippi River;
• Conduct its river operations to avoid flooding disasters, like those experienced in 2011; and
• Rebuild the damaged levees as quickly as possible.

Also aiming to protect Missourians from catastrophic flood damage, SCR 16 would urge the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to accept the recommendations of the independent technical review panel regarding the improvement of its flood protection operations; conduct its river management in accordance with its duty to control flooding; and continually make flood control a top priority in its future river management planning activities.

As a portion of our area borders the Mississippi River, flood safety has always been important to me. Last year, I sponsored a measure (SCR 8) addressing flood safety as well, and I’m glad two strong measures are moving forward in the legislative process.

If you would like to learn more about how you and your family can prepare for flooding, please visit sema.dps.mo.gov, where you can view a variety of storm safety material. In addition, as we enter our state’s peak tornado season, I encourage you to visit stormaware.mo.gov, where you can review how to stay as safe as possible during a tornado. It’s my hope and prayer that our state will be spared from the devastating storms we witnessed in 2011, but should we encounter emergencies like last year, it’s important to be prepared. Thank you and God Bless.