Glen Allen victims eligible for buyouts after flooding; commissioner calls timing a 'miracle'

GLEN ALLEN, Mo. — Flash flood victims in Glen Allen will be eligible for 100% property buyouts through the federal government, U.S. Rep. Jason Smith announced Wednesday, Sept. 13.

The grants will be dispersed through the U.S. Department of Agriculture Natural Resources Conservation Service Emergency Watershed Protection Program, according to Smith's news release.

The federal government is also providing up to $5,000 to help tenants move. The buyouts will be voluntary, Smith said.

"We got a massive flood, a really bad flood in August, and it just basically wiped the town out," Bollinger County Presiding Commissioner Leo Arnzen said. "It was different than the previous floods and there was, of course, no help available (from the Federal Emergency Management Agency), and Jason Smith's office really, really, really helped us a lot. These people were in bad shape, and somehow they got this buyout put together very quickly. We've had buyouts before, and it took years. This took weeks. ... It's just a miracle this happened. These people were hurting; they needed it bad."

Smith said he appreciated the government agencies working so quickly to "help this small town that has been through incredibly difficult times. I will continue working closely with the community to secure additional federal aid for families whose lives were forever changed by the devastating natural disasters."

Twenty-seven to 35 homes were considered major or total losses after the flooding Aug. 14 in the Bollinger County village.

Arnzen, the commissioner, said he thought up to 50 or more properties might end up being eligible for the buyout. He said he believes most will take the buyouts, but the appraisers have not assessed the properties.

He said the area received 9 inches of rain in two hours, describing the topography of Glen Allen as flat, but hilly just beyond the village. He said water comes rushing through the valleys and into the creeks. He said one home he is aware of had 7 feet of water inside the house after the protective earthen structure gave way.

Residents in Glen Allen told the Southeast Missourian after the flood that a "levee" protecting the area from Giblet and Little Crooked creeks failed, sending water cascading into the neighborhood, flooding homes in the middle of the night. Emergency management personnel said the earthen structure is not officially a levee, adding that it was not built by the Army Corps of Engineers. Arnzen used the word "berm" to describe the protective structure. He said the berm has already been rebuilt, but he did not know who did the work. It's on private property, he said.

Leonard Foster helped remove his mother from the rising floodwaters when the flood hit its peak around 3 a.m.

He told a reporter in the days following the flood that he and others were hoping for a buyout.

"You can't live out here like this," he said at the time.

The flash flood was the second major disaster to strike the small community in a matter of months. The community was devastated by a tornado in April. The tornado killed five individuals.

After the tornado, several homes were damaged, but homeowners were not eligible for government funds from FEMA because of rules that required a minimum standard of monetary damage to trigger funding. Because Bollinger County is sparsely populated, that threshold wasn't met and those whose homes were destroyed received no government funding.

The previous tornado, Arnzen said, contributed to the urgency and importance of funding secured for buyouts.

"It doesn't matter if it's a million people or one person, the impact is the same on a personal level," Arnzen said. "I know FEMA is a big operation, and they've got to have standards. But these people were hurting as bad as anyone in New Orleans or any place a disaster was. This town is just destroyed."