Remembering the Taum Sauk Reservoir Collapse 19 Years Later

Reynolds County, Mo. (KFMO) - Saturday marked 19 years since the catastrophic collapse of the Taum Sauk Reservoir in southeast Missouri.

On December 14, 2005, a 700-foot section of the dam gave way, releasing a massive wall of water down Profit Mountain and into Johnson’s Shut-Ins State Park, in Reynolds County.

While the campground was fortunately empty, tragedy struck when a park ranger, his wife, and their three children were swept from their home. All suffered injuries but survived the disaster.

The flood devastated the surrounding environment, stripping the area of vegetation and leaving widespread destruction. It took five years of extensive restoration work before Johnson’s Shut-Ins State Park could fully reopen to the public.

Ameren Missouri, the owner of the Taum Sauk facility, contributed $500 million to restoration efforts.