As Branson continues cleanup after major weekend flooding, officials there say things have for the most part returned to normal.
Ted Martin is Branson’s fire chief and emergency management director. He says the flooding, which comes as tourism season is starting to pick up, has not stopped the city from doing its normal business.
“We have a lot of homes, downtown, by Alexander Park that still have water in them,” Martin said. “But as a given the city is open for business. Below the dam within Branson, all of the shows and attraction are pretty much operating as a normal May day.”
The city is currently working on a damage assessment.
“We have about two dozen houses that are still under water and more that have water in them,” Martin said. “Right now we are trying to get the official numbers so we can get those assessments taken care of by tomorrow,” Martin said Wednesday.
He says those numbers will be passed on to the state, which hopes to obtain a federal disaster declaration by the president to enable funding assistance to citizens.
Martin adds he expects the water levels in the city to drop in the next few days.
According to the National Weather Service, an estimated 6-8 inches fell in the Branson area between Friday and Sunday. Many roads throughout the region were flooded during that time, and some remained flooded days later. As of Wednesday afternoon, the Missouri Department of Transportation says more than 230 roads were closed due to flooding.
