Viral Video Captures Heavy Rain in Missouri Flooding an Empty Day Care - A-Z Animals

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In this frightening clip, we see a sensory room in a children’s daycare facility being dangerously flooded in a matter of seconds. Thankfully there was nobody in the room at the time because it had been evacuated. The extraordinary footage was captured in Wentzville, Missouri, and was recorded by surveillance cameras at the Future Stars Academy in May 2021.

The video notes explain that there had been a backup of water outside the sensory room caused by a plumbing issue during severe storms. If you look carefully at the footage, you can see that the water level outside the room has already reached the level of the window! Pressure on the door will have been huge and eventually it fails. The bottom panel gives way and thousands of gallons of dirty water flow into the room – filling it in seconds. The torrent of water swirls in an anti-clockwise direction sweeping toys and furniture in its path. Perhaps the saddest part of the footage is a panda soft toy floating on its back amongst the debris. The good news is that no one was hurt. A GoFundMe page was launched to help pay for the repairs.

How Dangerous Are Floods?

This particular flood was caused by a plumbing issue but thousands of natural floods occur in the US every year. In fact, according to the US National Weather Service, more deaths occur each year from flooding than any other severe weather event. The greatest number of deaths occur when people drive vehicles into flood water. Many people also die because they have walked into flood waters. Unfortunately, many people underestimate the power of water! It takes just six inches of moving water to knock an adult off their feet. The quantity and force of water in this footage would have been more than enough to have knocked over the adults in the room. The children would have been swept up in the torrent putting them at risk of severe injury.

Does Floodwater Carry Disease?

As well as the immediate physical risk presented by flood water, and it also carries a lot of diseases. It enters, and comes back out of, sewers and drains and brings with that all of the pathogens that are found in human waste. This includes gastrointestinal pathogens such as salmonella and potentially typhoid. However, flood water can also contain snakes and insects which can present a risk to humans. Depending on where the flood has occurred, it can also contain oil, gasoline, or industrial waste. The best advice is to keep out of flood water. Also, throw away anything that has been in contact with the water if it cannot be thoroughly cleaned.