Heavy rain over the weekend flooded most of the Ozarks and wreaked havoc on outdoor athletic facilities. West Plains took the brunt of over eight inches of rain as the Zizzers saw their baseball, softball and football fields majorly damaged and their track ruined by the flooding.
Athletic Director Greg Simpkins took these photos of the damage.
Zizzer Stadium was completely under water Sunday.
@weatherchannel what the West Plains, Mo football field looked like. Willow Springs, Mo hard hit as well #Flood2017 pic.twitter.com/WmAyYfKUPI
— L Foster (@fosterlo) April 30, 2017
By Monday the water had drained from the field leaving a mess of dirt and rocks. Metal bleachers were picked up and moved by the swift water.
The field will require professional cleaning. The school will assess if any major repairs are necessary.
The track was completely ruined as the water ripped up massive chunks of asphalt. The track team will practice at neighboring MV-BT/Liberty with districts coming up next week. The pole vault pad floated away and has yet to be found.
The softball field looked more like a river. The fence was taken out and two cars swept away by the rain collided, knocking over the scoreboard that was installed just three weeks ago. Soccer goals also floated onto the softball field.
The cleanup is already underway as citizens and students teamed up to mend their tattered town. School was closed Monday and Tuesday with several roads still closed. Simpkins hopes things return to normal by Wednesday.
