Flooding cleanup continues in Ozark

Yahoo

29-05-2025

OZARK, Mo. — Even though the floodwaters have gone down, some places around the city of Ozark are still feeling the effects.
'The flooding was pretty surprising,' said Ozark neighbor Jared Robbins.
On Friday, May 23, heavy overnight rain poured over local communities — nearly submerging cars and businesses in Ozark.
'It's definitely the worst I've ever seen here,' said Ryan Nelson, who watched the floodwaters rise on Saturday.
The Finley River flooded over into the Career Center and local parks, as well as the parking lot of a local Chinese restaurant.
After just a few days, the only reminder of the knee-deep floodwaters is from the markings on the sides of buildings and debris scattered along fence lines.
'I don't think we were really prepared,' Robbins said.
Robbins tells Ozarks First as a whole, the community wasn't ready for the weather to hit as hard as it did.
'We could have handed out sandbags and that kind of thing,' Robbins said.
Robbins has lived in the area for five years.
'I wasn't here for the 2017 floods, but what I did see, it caught me by surprise,' Robbins said.
He says he was content with how the city responded to the flooding.
'They handled it better than in the past,' Robbins said. 'And they were able to roll with the punches a little bit better.'
But he says there's always room for improvement.
'Specifically where the Riverside Inn used to be,' Robbins said. 'I do feel that flooding there has been a lingering issue for decades and the building is no longer there, of course, but the roadway still is. And now all that's torn up.'
He tells me neighbors in the community have stepped up to lend a helping hand.
'We're all about coming together in times of trial, as most communities should be,' Robbins said.
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