Meramec River crest forecasts drop but residents still prepare for flooding

Crest forecasts for the surging Meramec River dropped on Thursday, leaving many residents in riverside communities like Pacific and Eureka with breathing room to go about fairly typical routines.

But some residents still faced serious threats of flooding and scrambled to prepare, as water levels continue to rise after rain soaked the region earlier this week.

Jeff Forbus spent Thursday bracing for the arrival of floodwater. It was his second day of racing against time as the brown water from the swollen Meramec crept closer to his home near the edge of Pacific — the first house that would get wet in that part of town, he said.

“There’s the water. It’s comin’,” he said, gesturing toward a visible stretch of the river that he expected to reach his property by the evening. “I haven’t slept or anything.”

Forbus hurriedly moved belongings from lower areas and sheds to higher places in his home and nearby. He faced gut-wrenching decisions about what to save and what to potentially surrender to the water.

His main goal was to fill a camping trailer with belongings and get it to higher ground, though he was also moving things into his home, which sits atop an elevated foundation. That foundation “might” be high enough to withstand the crest on Friday, he said.

Forbus even planned to perch a gas-powered generator on the home’s roof before he would “say a prayer” and ride out the flood.

“I’m sheltering in place,” he said. “I don’t have any place to go.”

Pacific Mayor Heather Filley said city officials and police officers on Tuesday night visited 150 to 200 properties that were expected to be swamped by floodwater — covering maybe a quarter of the town. Residents in those locations were advised to evacuate.

Filley guessed that many people had not left by Thursday, but the lowered river crest projections meant flooding may not be as severe as initially feared. Still, Finney and volunteers were busy filling sandbags — about 10,000 total — for anyone who wanted them. She estimated that about half of them were claimed by Thursday afternoon.

The Meramec was predicted to crest in Pacific at 26.2 feet, considered moderate flood stage, at noon Friday. In Eureka, the river is forecast to crest at 34.8 feet, which is major flood stage, at noon Friday. Major flood stage is also predicted in Valley Park, where the river is forecast to crest at 29 feet at 6 a.m. Friday. In Fenton, the river is predicted to crest at 29.5 feet at noon Friday, at moderate flood stage.

At least those near the rising Meramec have time to react, unlike many victims of the flash flooding that struck parts of the region after the this week’s downpours.

“With the rising river levels, we can at least prepare and predict what’s going to happen,” said Claire Martin, a specialist in St. Louis County’s Office of Emergency Management.

Many near the encroaching river made the most of that time. At Hackmann Lumber and Home Centers in Pacific, employees spent Wednesday moving truckloads of wood as a precaution, even though the business expected its yard to remain dry.

The store’s new owners “knew it was going to happen at some point, they just didn’t know when,” said Ian Grisbrook, a sales employee, referring to the store’s history of flooding, commemorated in high-water marks near the entrance. “It’s good to be ready.”

Others individuals and businesses who expected to stay dry also faced ripple effects from the anticipated flooding.

In Eureka, Robyn Weaver said her children’s school bus route was canceled Thursday afternoon, thanks to flood-related road closures. Those closures also drastically lengthen the commute from home to her shop, The Robyn’s Nest Gifts and Décor, in Eureka’s Old Town. She planned to keep the store closed on Friday — a painful step as the holiday shopping season starts to ramp up.

“This time of year, especially, is very stressful,” she said.