PHOTO GALLERY: Van Buren, Missouri, hit hard by flooding
Volunteers went to work Wednesday cleaning up after floods heavily damaged parts of Van Buren, Missouri, including the First Baptist Church and Van Buren High School gymnasium. The church will be demolished and rebuilt, while the school is serving as a new home base for local law enforcement and volunteers.
Photography by Hannah Sturtecky
Running water from Pike Creek and the Current River rush over rocks at the Van Buren Campground on Wednesday after floods reached a record high Saturday.
The remnants of First Baptist Church sit in muddy water Wednesday after record-breaking floods in Van Buren, Missouri. The church will be torn down as the basement has not yet drained, Pastor Ron Robinson said.
The fridge in First Baptist Church in Van Buren, Missouri, balances between counters after flood waters pushed it out of position on Wednesday. "God pushed the time schedule," Pastor Ron Robinson said in reference to the church's demolition, which wasn't expected for another few years.
Pastor Ron Robinson, right, of First Baptist Church talks with Joby Marvin, a teacher at Van Buren Elementary School on Wednesday. "We are survivors," Robinson said. "We will survive."
A hymn titled "Nothing is Impossible" lies on the flooded floor of First Baptist Church in Van Buren, Missouri, on Wednesday. After record-breaking floods Saturday, the town is under a flash flood watch until 1 p.m. Wednesday.
Bibles, hymn books and other religious texts rest destroyed from flood waters on the piano in the First Baptist Church worship room on Wednesday. Pastor Ron Robinson of the Van Buren, Missouri, church lost one of the two bibles he planned to pass down to one of his two daughters, while the other was able to be salvaged.
Monica Darris prepares to enter McSpadden Funeral Home to look for her relative's ashes that were still inside the building when the flood hit. "I'm going to go in there and see if I can't see him again," Darris said.
Coach Jacob Black comforts Triston Keeney, 16, one of his students, while cleaning up the Van Buren High School gymnasiums Wednesday. Black has been the Bulldogs' baseball coach for seven years, but he takes on whatever role is needed.
Mike Hoerner, mayor of Van Buren, Missouri, reconvenes with officials Wednesday outside Van Buren High School.
Mike Hoerner, mayor of Van Buren, Missouri stands on the cracked pavement Wednesday in the Van Buren High School parking lot. Covered in mud, he has been helping the town clean up all day.
From left, Terry Hindal, 18, Ed Miller, Tony Hindal, 18, and Jeff Martin, 15, complete volunteer waivers outside of Van Buren High School on Wednesday. The four are with the Ellsinore, Missouri, Mennonite church that came to volunteer with cleanup.
Forgotten heels sit on the bleachers of Van Buren High School after students left prom the night of the flash floods. Prom goers were relocated to their after-prom event at the community center.
Van Buren High School sports trophies sit piled in a trash bin Wednesday after being salvaged from the gymnasium. When the floods began, Maintenance Director Chris Hartgroves collected the trophies, knowing they were irreplaceable, and stored them in the high school for safe keeping after sandbags meant to keep out the water had failed.
CORRECTION: A previous version of this caption stated that Joby Marvin saved the trophies.
Sergeant Craig N. Ponder from the Missouri State Highway Patrol walks down the halls of Van Buren High School on Wednesday.
