Floodwaters Threaten River Towns In Illinois And Missouri
GULFPORT, Ill. (AP) — Mississippi River towns in Illinois and Missouri are facing flooding that began in eastern Iowa and worked its way downstream.
The Iowa floods caused more than $1.5 billion in damage as it crept south toward the Mississippi.
Now the floodwaters are a problem for communities such as Gulfport, Illinois, and Clarksville, Missouri.
Authorities rescued people by helicopter, boat and four-wheeler on Tuesday after the river broke through a levee in Gulfport.
Later this week, the Mississippi is expected to threaten a host of other communities, leading officials to consider evacuation plans and begin sandbagging.
Sandbagging is already under way in Clarksville, Missouri, a historic artists’ town of 500 people between St. Louis and Hannibal. Some blocks are already swamped, but volunteers are still working.
