*** UPDATE 2 *** The river has topped the levee in Olive Branch…
A flooded Mississippi River has flowed over the top of a levee in southern Illinois.
Patti Thompson is spokeswoman for the Illinois Emergency Management Agency. She says officials received a report that water was higher than the levee at Olive Branch in Alexander County.
Thompson didn’t know if anyone was hurt or property damaged, but she says it appears the water had begun backing off.
The Wabash River on the eastern border of Illinois was also flowing over a levee in Lawrence County. The National Weather Service issued a flash flood warning for the county.
* And despite what his press release said earlier today, Sen. Mark Kirk is now on a ground tour of Cairo. He didn’t just fly over. Good for him. A photo of Kirk in Cairo just after landing…
Kirk being briefed by Army Corps of Engineers, with the big Cairo sandboil in the background…
Checking out that big sinkhole…
*** UPDATE 2 *** Courtesy of Sen. Kirk, here’s the Birds Point levee, which was blown up by the Corps of Engineers last night…
*** UPDATE 3 *** A much better video of the Birds Point explosion…
[ *** End Of Updates *** ]
* As of 9 o’clock this morning, the Ohio River was at 60.45 at Cairo. That’s down from 61.72 feet at its peak yesterday before that Missouri fuseplug levee was blown. Here’s the chart…
The previous Cairo record was was 59.5 feet. There’s still a ways to go before the river even gets that low. At least four more days, according to that chart.
* If you haven’t yet seen the video of the Missouri levee’s demolition, click here. Boom!
Here’s the audio version…
* Oh, ye of little faith…
Missouri officials fought hard to stop the plan, filing court actions all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court. Rep. Jo Anne Emerson, a Republican from nearby Cape Girardeau, stood beside Walsh as he announced his decision Monday, but she was clearly unhappy.
“We’re uprooting families that have been here six generations and you don’t even know if it’s going to work,” she said.
* A second blast at the southern end of the levee to allow outflow was delayed last night due to weather conditions.
* Illinois’ problems persist, however…
Hardin County volunteers were sandbagging in Elizabethtown as the Ohio River keeps rising, a sheriff’s dispatcher said Monday night. There has been no mandatory evacuation order, but some residents are leaving, she added. Illinois 146 was still open in Elizabethtown.
* The Little Wabash River is about to hit its second highest flooding stage in history…
Sandbagging occurred throughout low-lying areas of the city Monday, as well as along Possum Road just south of town. And officials were hopeful that this would keep the water at bay long enough for the river to crest and the flood to recede.
Hopes that the Wabash River had crested have proven premature. At Mt. Carmel, where flood stage is 19 feet, the Wabash was measured at 33.5 feet at 2 p.m. Monday and is expected to crest Thursday evening at 34.1 feet—just above the all-time record of 34 feet.
Downstream at New Harmony, Ind., where flood stage is 15 feet, the Wabash was measured at 23.29 feet at 4:30 p.m. Monday, with a crest of about 23.5 feet expected Tuesday evening.
And at Old Shawneetown, where flood stage is 33 feet, the Ohio River was measured at 54.86 feet at 4:30 p.m. Monday, with a crest of about 56 feet expected Wednesday evening.
* There’s also trouble in Alexander County…
Residents of Urbandale scrambled to gather be-longings and evacuate homes Monday as flash flooding overtook the small town that resides along the Ohio River be-tween Mound City and Cairo.
Sue Travis ran back and forth from her front door to her PT Cruiser, packing it with blankets and pillows, as water completely engulfed her backyard.
“None of this water was (here) at 9 this morning,” Travis said.
At the same time, Michael Woodworth was readying his family to evacuate to Anna. They had fled Cairo for Urban-dale last wee
* The rain continues unabated…
The month of May has only just begun, but it’s already shaping up to be a wetter-than-normal one.
In fact, the first two days of the month may have already topped the monthly average for Southern Il-linois.
“So far, we’re four inches and counting,” meteorologist Rick Shanklin of the National Weather Service in Paducah said Monday afternoon. “Normal rainfall in May is 4.82 inches and we may exceed that before the end of (Monday). In two days, we’ve basically made our average for the month.”
* The flooding is straining local resources to the limit…
Marty Nicholson with Alexander County’s emergency management office, said she hopes that the feds show up soon.
“There are so many costs right now. I just hope (we get) a federal disaster declaration to help pay for all of this,” she said.
Nicholson is quick to say that Alexander County is “already deep in debt” so it can’t pay for much. As the only paid employee in the county’s emergency management office, she said she’s taking time off from her other job to do her duty as emergency manager.
“I’m using my vacation days from the Cairo Police Department to be able to fight these floods,” she said.
Alexander County can’t even pay for meals for the emergency workers. Nicholson said volunteers are bringing in food.
“Ladies from the local churches down here are doing a fantastic job of feeding and taking care of us,” she said.
* And the Red Cross is still in dire need of volunteers…
The Red Cross is still in need of volunteers to give any amount of time they can to assist with needs of flood victims. As area rivers continue to rise and rain continues to pelt Southern Illinois, many residents are forced to leave their homes and stay in emergency shelters.
Red Cross volunteer Linda Parker is coordinating volunteer efforts during the flooding. Both trained volunteers and “spontaneous” volunteers (who have not had Red Cross training) will be welcomed, she said. Those willing to serve are asked to call the Red Cross office at 618-529-1525.
* Meanwhile, Gov. Pat Quinn smoothed over some ruffled feathers after he failed to visit Cairo last week…
State Rep. Mike Bost, R-Murphysboro, said Quinn’s trip on Monday made up for hurt feelings from last week.
“It is important that the governor’s presence being made known in those areas where they are suffering the most,” Bost said.
Cairo Mayor Judson Childs said it was good to have Quinn and officers from U.S. Army Corps of Engineers standing behind him on Monday.
“I’m glad to look up at their faces,” Childs said. “When you have a team, when you are playing ball, you look around and you look for some support, and it makes you feel much better.”
* And Sen. Mark Kirk may be making the same mistake Quinn made last week by holding a presser in Marion and then flying over the real damage. From a press release…
Following a briefing by Illinois emergency management officials on Mississippi and Ohio River flooding, U.S. Sen. Mark Kirk (R-Ill.) will hold a media availability at 9:30 a.m. Tuesday to discuss the need for federal assistance in flood-ravaged Southern Illinois towns. Senator Kirk also will take a helicopter tour of flooded Southern Illinois towns like Cairo
* Roundup…
* Ohio River Sets New Record, Mississippi Waters Still Rising
* Q & A about insurance in the wake of storms
* Ameren Illinois activates emergency operations center
* Illinois Prisoners Help In Southern Illinois Floods
* Equality residents cope with flooding
* Brookport-Paducah Bridge closed
* Flood gates being closed in Golconda
