'Massive flood fight' underway in Missouri

Luke Skywalker · Dec 30, 2015

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[h=4]'Massive flood fight' underway in Missouri[/h]Missouri activates National Guard as torrent sweeps down Mississippi

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Citizens in some Missouri towns have already been urged to evacuate, and the state's governor has declared a state of emergency.
Video provided by Newsy Newslook

Flooded homes Dec. 29, 2015, in Pacific, Mo.(Photo: AP/J.B. Forbes, St. Louis Post-Dispatch)

MIssouri braced*Wednesday for record*floods*from the raging Mississippi River and its tributaries that have*already shut down more than 200 state highways, forced the evacuation of residents in some low-lying areas and prompted Gov. Jay Nixon to activate the National Guard for a "massive flood fight."
Nixon warned that low temperatures would further complicate the battle to protect life and property from*this*rare winter flood.*"This is not a summer flood, this is dangerous," he told CNN on Wednesday.
The*Mississippi River is*expected to crest in downtown St. Louis Thursday*at 43.7 feet, nearly 14 feet over flood stage. The torrent is expected to hit*Memphis on Jan.3.
Along the*tributaries of the Mississippi,*high water is expected to hit*Paducah, Ky., on the Ohio River, and*Little Rock, on the Arkansas River, on New Year's Day.
At least 20*deaths over several days in Missouri and Illinois were blamed on flooding, mostly involving vehicles that drove onto swamped roadways, the Associated Press reported. Nixon said 13 had died in Missouri alone.
In Illinois,*Christian County officials said*the latest deaths were*a man and a woman*found*in floodwaters about 6 miles east of Edinburg. Officials say it appears they were trying to cross a flooded area. Police used cellphone location services to find them, but their minivan remains*missing, the Associated Press reported.
In Fort Leonard Wood, Mo., five international soldiers*assigned there for training drowned in flood waters on Sunday,*the*Army Times*reported. The identities of the soldiers were not immediately released pending notification of family, the Times said.

Floodwaters from Lake Taneycomo surrounded several homes after a record amount of water was released from the Table Rock Lake dam on Dec. 29, 2015.*(Photo: Nathan Papes/News-Leader)

In Missouri, some areas have already been*hit hard*by the first wave of rising water. Rockaway Beach, located near*Branson*in southwest Missouri, was swamped*by waters from the swollen White River.
The*tourist town of 800 "has just been demolished,"*Mayor Don Smith*told KYTV.*"It's devastating, and we are all so exhausted."
The nearby Table Rock Dam experienced record-breaking flooding, according to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.*The agency reported 72,000 cubic feet of water per second is being released from the dam, which surpasses the previous record of 69,000 cubic feet of water, the Springfield News-Leader*reported.
In Valley Park, 15 miles southwest of*St. Louis, authorities ordered*a*mandatory evacuation Wednesday*as rising water was expected to breach a levee on the*Meramec River.*Mike Pennise, mayor of the town of 7,000 people, said*up to 80%*of local*residents were*already set*to go by mid-morning, and some had*already left.
The Meramec's rising waters at Valley Park also*shut down*Interstate*44, a major artery that carries 100,000 cars daily as it slices southwest through the state from St. Louis.*I-44*was also closed at Jerome, Mo.,*100 miles to the southwest, from flooding on*the Gasconade River.
The shutdown of wide portions of I-44 not only snarled the daily commutte, it played havoc with the hundreds of trucks who ply the route daily.
Many drivers, paid by the mile, were stuck with few alternatives, or were forced to travel on back roads, on hilly sections, and on roads with no shoulder, and limited passing lanes,*the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported. In some cases drivers were stranded because they weren't sure if their rigs would clear underpasses and bridges on some detour routes.
Missouri transportation officials said more than 200 state highways were closed statewide because of high water.
In nearby Pacific, around 300 homes and business were battling rising water as the Meramec threatened to top the record river level of 33.6 feet by as much as two feet, KTVI-TV reports.
Nixon, activated the National Guard on Tuesday, said the state was braced for battles on numerous fronts as river levels threatened to match or exceed records set in 1993.
"We are in a massive flood flight across a wide swath of our state," Nixon said. *Several Missouri towns were evacuating and some had already flooded. The Mississippi, Missouri and Meramec rivers all were at or near flood stage.
Nixon said emergency crews were battling to keep the water contained on some area, while preparing for rescue efforts in other areas.*"We're going to make sure the flood fights we can win, we win," he said." "But if we can't,*we are going to get people out."
The governor, who traveled to Perryville, 80 miles south of St. Louis, to help coordinate government efforts to minimize flooding, said the guard would provide security in evacuated areas and direct traffic diverted by road closures.

The massive weather system that has devastated parts of the South and Midwest also drove ice, snow, heavy rains – and headaches – into the Upper Midwest and Northeast.
Winter weather slowed traffic to a crawl in parts of New York, New England and elsewhere. Missouri, Oklahoma and Texas were among states battling flooding from days of heavy rain.

Cheryl Turek, of Nevada, Texas, right, hugs Evelyn Lindstrom in front of Lindstrom's destroyed home in Copeville, Texas, after heavy rain, high winds and tornadoes swept through North Texas the previous night, on Dec. 27, 2015.* Rachel Woolf, The Dallas Morning News via AP

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In Milwaukee, two men died in separate incidents while trying*to clean up snow around their residences. In one case, a 73-year-old man died*after he*collapsed while snow blowing, according to WISN. In the other incident, a 54-year-old man died*after collapsing while shoveling snow, WISN reported.
In the Northeast, snow and ice posed the biggest*problems. Boston, which last winter set a record with more than 9 feet of snow, has been reveling in a mild winter so far this season. On Tuesday the plows roared out of city garages.
"Encouraging everyone to be extra cautious during this morning's commute as #BOSnow makes an appearance for the first time this winter," Mayor Marty Walsh tweeted.
The roads across parts of New York state were littered with accidents and slowdowns. The Transportation Department warned drivers to "be extra alert when traveling to account for the snow/ice."

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Heavy rains swelled a river in the town of Union, Missouri Tuesday, covering roadways and flooding homes and businesses along a nearby river. (Dec. 29) AP

Burlington, Vt., dealt*with snow and sleet. Green Mountain Power, the state's largest utility, warned*of likely outages as the winter storm bore down on the state.
The week-old weather pattern that brought tornadoes, snow, ice, heavy rain and flooding to Texas and parts of the Midwest and Southeast has been blamed for more than 40 deaths.
Contributing: Burlington, Vermont, Free Press; The Indianapolis Star
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'Massive flood fight' underway in Missouri

Luke Skywalker

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