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ST. LOUIS (AP) – The latest wave of floods in the US Midwest has left at least four dead, closed hundreds of roads and forced residents of riparian towns to cover threatened dikes with sandbags while the waters reached record and close levels in some communities.
The National Weather Service issued Friday flood warnings over much of the Mississippi River, as well as flash flood alerts for parts of Missouri, Arkansas, the United States, the United States, and the United States. Oklahoma and Texas after heavy rains.
The body of a missing kayaker was found Friday afternoon in an inflated stream southwest of Missouri. Missouri State Highway Patrol Sgt. John Lueckenhoff identified the man as Scott M. Puckett, 35, of Forsyth, Missouri. The body of his friend, Alex Ekern, 23, was found Thursday.
Puckett and Ekern were among the three men who started paddling on Wednesday afternoon at Bull Creek, near the small town of Walnut Shade. The patrol said that they had been swept by a low-water bridge and caught in what is called a hydraulic, which creates a washing machine effect difficult to escape. One of the men survived.
The floods also claimed the lives of a camper found Wednesday after being caught in the waters of an overflowing stream near the town of Ava, also in southwestern Missouri. And in northeastern Indiana, a 2-year-old was killed when his mother took a flooded road.
In Davenport, Iowa, the worst was far from over, even after the Mississippi had reached record heights.
The ridge has slightly surpassed the 1993 record on Thursday, and forecasters are calling for an additional 10 cm rain next week, which means the high water will probably stay in place and rise even more.
Several blocks from downtown Davenport were flooded this week when a flood barrier succumbed to the onslaught of the waters. The Quad Cities River is at the stage of major floods or higher for 41 consecutive days.
The governor of Iowa, Kim Reynolds, went to Davenport on Friday.
Historical floods also occurred elsewhere along the river. The National Weather Service is currently predicting that the flood level will reach the second or third highest rate ever recorded in several Mississippi towns in northeastern Missouri – Hannibal, Louisiana, Clarksville and Winfield – and in 39, West Illinois, such as Quincy, Alton and Grafton.
The Mayor of Grafton, Rick Eberlin, said at a teleconference bringing together the leaders of other riverside towns that roads are closing around the city and that everything is being done for companies to relocate as the waters rise. The city, located 65 kilometers north of St. Louis, has no dyke or dyke. He said that water was beginning to encroach on City Hall.
"We are at the end of our minds," said Eberlin. "We are totally unprotected."
Mayor Phil Stang of Kimmswick, Missouri, said the community was building a permanent dike in the hope of holding back the water. "We have completely closed the city and as soon as it rains, we are a bathtub."
Sandbagging efforts began on Friday in Winfield, where the Oak Levee Pine was threatened. Winfield, about 50 miles north of St. Louis, was one of many cities where volunteers ran to add sandbags to the top of the dikes and around homes and businesses.
In Alton, the Argosy Alton casino was forced to close on Friday as floodwaters crept higher in the city center. Mayor of Alton, Brant Walker, complained that the city "controls floods every eight months" and that frequent business closures are hurting the city's finances.
"We are barely keeping our heads out of the water," he said.
In St. Louis, the Gateway Arch remains open, even when floodwater spills onto the road below.
The US Coast Guard closed Friday the Mississippi for a distance of 5 miles to St. Louis, citing both high water and fast current.
Mississippi is not the only river that overflows its banks. Moderate floods in Missouri River towns such as Washington and St. Charles, Missouri have caused headaches, such as road closures, but few homes have been affected.
The Meramec River, in the suburbs of St. Louis, is rapidly gaining height and ridge Sunday and Monday at about 4.5 meters above flood level in cities like Arnold and Valley Park, threatening several homes and businesses .
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