By The Numbers: Tuesday's historic STL-area flooding

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ST. LOUIS – Record rainfall and flash flooding slammed the St. Louis region Tuesday, leading to one death and emergency declarations on behalf of St. Louis City, St. Louis County and Missouri state officials.

Following the historic weather event, a few shocking stats paint a picture of just how rare the situation proved to be.

Stats were compiled on behalf of the FOX2 Weather and News Teams, Weather.com and National Weather Service.

Rainfall

12.86 inches of rainfall reported over a 24-hour period in St. Peters, largest total in region.
10.5 inches of rainfall reported in Clayton from FOX2, largest total in St. Louis County.
9.07 inches of rainfall reported Tuesday at St. Louis Lambert Airport.
The previous record for daily rainfall in St. Louis was 6.85 inches, set on Aug. 20, 1915. Weather stations in O’Fallon, Maryland Heights, Troy (Mo.) and Belleville (Ill.) all reported at least six inches of rain through 1 p.m.

Rarity of rainfall

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration projects Tuesday’s weather event has about a 1 in 1,000 chance of happening on any given year.
7.68 inches of rain fell in St. Louis over one six-hour period, a stretch that alone broke the city’s record for largest rainfall in a day.
The National Weather Service reports the St. Louis region saw about 25% of its normal yearly rainfall over a 12-hour window that began around midnight Tuesday morning. St. Louis usually averages around 41.7 inches in precipitation each year.
July and August generally average around 3.8 inches of rainfall in St. Louis each month.
River Gauge at Dardenne Creek rose above 21 feet in just seven hours on Tuesday, reaching a moderate flood stage.

Local Response

At least 70 people were rescued in St. Louis City. Numerous rescues were also reported in St. Louis suburbs of Hazelwood, St. Ann, St. Charles, Kirkwood, Brentwood, Webster Groves and East St. Louis.
The Richmond Heights Community Center, the main shelter organized in the St. Louis region, offered shelter to 75 people Tuesday at its peak. 33 people stayed overnight at the shelter and 18 are still in need Wednesday.
Missouri Sewer District responded to 350 calls for assistance in St. Louis City and St. Louis County.
Three executive orders signed declaring emergencies (St. Louis City, St. Louis County, State of Missouri) in an effort to make funds available quickly for flood relief.