The US Army Corps of Engineers is closely watching levees along the Mississippi River. Communities on our listening area are not expected to receive the kind of flooding that has taken place in St. Louis; however, the river is expected to be in major flood stage levels from Cape Girardeau, Missouri south through Osceola, Memphis and Helena-West Helena. Jim Pogue is a spokesman for the US Army Corps of Engineers.
“Fortunately, the river is cresting right now at Cairo, Illinois came up a few feet less than was originally called for. Right now, that water is passing Cairo and the crest continues to move south.”
Pogue says the Army Corps of Engineers is working along the Mississippi River and its tributaries to prevent levees from breaching. He says similar work is also taking place along the White River, the St. Francis River and other rivers that flow in to the Mississippi.
“We actually sent people out into the field and they are patrolling at least 12 hours a day. They are watching everything real close and are working with authorities to see if communities need sandbags or plastic sheeting to protect levees.”
Pogue says record flooding levels that took place on the north is not expected to reach the middle and southern ends of the river.
“Up in the upper Mississippi area, they did have some catastrophic flooding there, but here it is going to crest several feet lower than it did in 2011.”
Along the Mississippi River, the town of Osceola has been watching the river. Osceola is not expected to see the kind of flooding that it did in 2011, when the river reached 48 feet. The flood stage in Osceola is 28 feet and is expected to reach 40 feet this week and then crest. Osceola Mayor Dickie Kennemore tells KASU news everything on the protected side the levee is expected to hold. He says parts of the unprotected side of the levee is expected to go underwater.
“On the unprotected side, we have a river port that is about to go underwater, as well as some parks and river handling facilities that are going underwater there. Those have to be shut down. The river port is the city’s, but it is operated by Poinsett Grain and they are moving all of those parts to higher ground.”
He says some homes on Island 35 across from Wilson may see some problems and he says some hunting camps are also expected to see high water. In Arkansas itself, 38 counties have been declared as disaster areas by Arkansas Governor Asa Hutchinson. Major flooding in the state has been taking place along the Arkansas River, and state officials are closely watching the White River, and other rivers in Northeast Arkansas. Director of the Arkansas Department of Emergency Management David Maxwell tells KASU’s Brandon Tabor the state has been staying in contact with many communities in the state, as well as the National Weather Service to see what may happen in the future:
“The Black River has had some flooding and we are closely watching the White River. We did a series of conference calls and webinars with local officials and the National Weather Service to make sure they knew where the levels would be at in the future.”
In the state’s worst part of the flooding, Maxwell tells how the state has been responding:
“We’ve got some National Guard troops that are on active duty that are working with state police in several locations. They are helping supplement local law enforcement in areas that have been evacuated.”
He says tips for those who are facing flood waters are available here.
