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U.S. NEWSWednesday 30 December
After rain deluge, rare winter floods on Mississippi River
Volunteers form a human chain as they help load sandbags Tuesday, Dec. 29, 2015, in St. Louis. the Mississippi in recent to form on the fast-moving
Flooding across Missouri has forced the closure of hundreds of roads and threatened homes. years may mitigate the river.
damage, but some homes
(AP Photo/Jeff Roberson) are endangered. The may- WAITING DOWNRIVER
or of West Alton, Missouri, National Weather Service
JIM SALTER prompting the concern: Saturday pushed it to the 20 miles north of St. Louis, hydrologist Marty Pope
JIM SUHR unprecedented levels. ordered the 520 residents said that flood crests on
Associated Press RECORD CRESTS The Mississippi is expected to evacuate because the Lower Mississippi below
ST. LOUIS (AP) — Warm and The sudden flooding along to reach 49.9 feet by Friday the flood levee isn’t high the mouth of the Arkansas
wet weather over the last the Mississippi River is both at Chester, Illinois, south of enough for the expected River won’t set overall re-
several weeks followed by rare and historic. St. Louis. That would top by crest. cords, but will probably be
storms that brought a del- At a time of the year when two-tenths of a foot the all- the highest ever recorded
uge of rain in recent days both precipitation and the time high reached on Aug. WHY SO HIGH? in winter.
have produced a severe river level typically are well 7, 1993. It also is expected Much of nation has en- “We’re looking at water
threat of flooding along below normal, there could to match the highest level joyed an unusually warm stretching from levee to le-
the Mississippi River, where be record crests in some ever on Saturday at Cape late fall and early winter, vee,” Pope told reporters
water could reach record places along the Missis- Girardeau in southeast Mis- but it has come with a Monday in Pearl, Mississippi.
high levels soon in some sippi. The river already was souri. St. Louis Mayor Fran- price. That means that inhabited
places. The winter flooding high due to an unseason- cis Slay declared a flood “It has been a lot warm- areas on the river side of
is unusual and could por- ably warm, wet late fall emergency. Major flooding er than normal, and the levees, as well as ports and
tend even worse problems and early winter. Torren- is predicted at several oth- warmer air can hold more casinos, could be affected.
in the spring depending on tial rains — 6 to 10 inches er points from just north of moisture in the atmo- The river is predicted to
weather the rest of the sea- in parts of eastern Missouri St. Louis through the South. sphere,” said Scott Watson, crest in Memphis on Jan. 9,
son. Here’s a look at what is and western Illinois — since Flood plain buyouts along a hydrologist for the Na- with the peak water trav-
tional Weather Service of- eling downstream to Nat-
fice near Kansas City, Mis- chez, Mississippi, by Jan. 18.
souri. “It’s still raining in parts of
The result has been higher the basin,” Pope said. There
than normal rainfall, caus- could be a lot of change
ing the Mississippi to be un- between now and then.”
usually high. St. Louis has re-
ceived nearly 10 inches of LEVEE SLIDE
rain in December, accord- Heavy rainfall has already
ing to the National Weath- inundated a levee in north-
er Service — four times the east Louisiana. Part of the
normal amount. Around 7 Mississippi River levee near
inches of rain have fallen Alsatia, in East Carroll Par-
since Saturday. ish, collapsed. Greg Rai-
The warm spell seems to be mondo, a spokesman for
coming to an end. Highs the Vicksburg District of
along the river basin in Mis- the U.S. Army Corps of Engi-
souri and Illinois are expect- neers, said the district plans
ed to be in the 40s for most to activate its flood-fighting
of this week, with overnight plan on Friday, increasing
lows in the 20s. But Watson patrols along levees, look-
said that’s probably not ing for sand boils, seepage
cold enough to cause ice and landslides.q
