ST. LOUIS, MO (KTVI - FOX2now.com)—
A powerful thunderstorm raced across downtown St. Louis Wednesday evening, closing Interstate 55-70 and I-64 in East St. Louis at one point. The storms also slightly damaged the City Museum and a nearby printing company. At least one car was submerged by flash flood waters in the North Broadway area. It was 9:30pm before IDOT crews were able to get the highways reopened.Heavy rains along the stretch of Interstate just east of the Poplar Street Bridge in Illinois overwhelmed storm sewers, causing water to rise and closing the stretch of highway where 55, 70, and 64 all merge. That's in East St. Louis Near 25th Street. IDOT is asked motorists to stay clear of the area for much of the night. Crews had to be brought in to pump water out of the road.
In North St. Louis County people were assessing the damage in their homes.
Homeowners in the Pine Lawn area spent Wednesday night dealing with feet of water in their basements. Basements as well as backyards became lakes from the storm. Homeowners in the neighborhood basically at Goodfellow and I-70 told us the water came up fast and furious. There was little time to get items from a basement to higher and dryer ground. All kinds of home goods and appliances were damaged from the storm-everything from TVs to washer/dryers to furnaces and hot water heaters.
We talked with one resident who was in his basement when the flooding started.
"At first it just started coming up out the drain, just flowing constantly. Then after a while it got so high outside it started coming in through the windows; just gushing in through the windows," said resident Cortez Frost.
We asked homeowner Gail Young about what kind of damage her home suffered.
She told us, "Oh, all kinds of damage, from the basement, from the backyard out there, the fences are down, from the basement the wind was so strong it kicked our basement door open and water just gushed in there something awful."
This isn't the first time residents in this neighborhood have dealt with this kind of flooding. Several people told us it also happened after Hurricane Ike back in 2008.
MSD spokesperson Lance Lecomb says MSD will help homeowners here in any way they can. Lecomb tells us there was simply too much rain at one time for the system to handle. Fortunately, no injuries were reported in the neighborhood.
A person answering the phone at the City Museum says activities there were never disrupted when lightning struck the building around 6pm Wednesday. Firefighters responded, finding several dislodged bricks that had fallen from a back corner of the building, along Delmar. They cleaned up some of the mess and turned it over to the City Buildings Department. No one was injured.
Meanwhile, not far away, at 2613 North Broadway, a portion of the roof collapsed at Goodwin Brothers Printing. Firefighters say a four foot by sixteen foot section of the roof caved in, breaking several sprinkler pipes. There were six people inside the building, but no one was hurt.
Not far away, several cars were underwater, the result of flash flooding in the area as the storm passed.
Late Wednesday the Red Cross announced they were opening a shelter in North St. Louis County for flood victims. Viking Hall, Normandy High School 6701 St. Charles Rock Road Wellston, MO
