Flood of 2011

Help finally may arrive for former residents of the small, black community of Pinhook, Missouri, which floodwaters destroyed in 2011. For the past six years, they have held on to hope and little else. Living in rental housing in Sikeston, Charleston, East Prairie and elsewhere, they dreamed of relocating and starting a new life together...

Cape Girardeau officials closed South Sprigg Street at Old Highway 61 on Sunday afternoon when flooding made the area hazardous. The flooding also will affect city services, as the transfer station will be closed until at least Wednesday. Leaf and Christmas-tree pickup are suspended, but there has been an area designated for Christmas tree drop-off in Arena Park...

It's feeling more like Easter than Christmas in Southeast Missouri, with temperatures in the 60s and severe-weather warnings being issued. The National Weather Service Storm Prediction Center in Norman, Oklahoma, issued several watches and warnings for the area Wednesday. A tornado watch was in effect all afternoon in Bollinger, Cape Girardeau, Perry and Scott counties, among others, in Southeast Missouri, as well as Alexander and Union counties in Illinois...

A Southeast Missouri farmer whose property was damaged by floodwaters after the Birds Point Levee breach in 2011 has won his case against an insurance company in federal court. Cornerstone National Insurance Co. initially refused to pay Mississippi County farm owner McIvan Jones' claims, saying "recovery was precluded by 'flood-in-progress' exclusions" in the policies, according to a news release from Jones' attorneys...

Mississippi County today shows acres of golden wheat with stubby green corn stalks and soybean sprouts making their way through the earth. Just three years ago, the scene was drastically different, as Mississippi River floodwaters ravaged the fields, leaving behind destroyed land, empty homes and rubble for roads...

OLIVE BRANCH, Ill. -- Two years after Alexander County, Ill., applied for a federal grant to buy out about 135 flood-prone homes and businesses, appraisers have begun establishing what those structures were worth before the Mississippi River overflowed its banks and inundated them...

GRAFTON, Ill. -- The Mississippi River started its slow decline at some problematic spots Monday, but the spring flood is far from over. The Mississippi and countless other Midwestern rivers still were significantly above flood stage, spurred by heavy rain last week. Levee breaks caused problems in Indiana, and floodwaters flirted with the Michigan State University campus...

OLIVE BRANCH, Ill.--Almost two years after enduring the worst flooding in recent memory, residents of Olive Branch finally will be in a position to decide their own destinies now that a buyout grant from the Federal Emergency Management Agency has been approved...

After months of putting pressure on federal agencies to move forward with the next step in the St. Johns Bayou and New Madrid Floodway Project to no avail, Republican U.S. Sen. Roy Blunt on Monday announced he is placing a hold on the nomination of the Environmental Protection Agency's next administrator...

The Memphis district of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has mailed notices to individuals who reside in, operate and do business in the Birds Point-New Madrid Floodway that the U.S. government can flood the area within the floodway to reduce pressure on the regional flood-control system.within the floodway to reduce pressure on the regional flood-control system....

NEW MADRID, Mo. -- When it rains within a 480-square-mile area in Southeast Missouri -- in towns such as Commerce, Charleston, Sikeston and East Prairie -- water trickles down a vast matrix of ditches and canals, through narrow flood gates at New Madrid and spills into the Mississippi River...

MEMPHIS, Tenn. -- The Mississippi River flooding of 2011 caused $2.8 billion in damage and tested the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers' system of levees, reservoirs and floodways like never before, exposing vulnerabilities that need attention, a report released Monday said...

Calling ongoing delays in the St. Johns Bayou and New Madrid Floodway project "outrageous," U.S. Sen. Roy Blunt, R-Mo., said Wednesday that he is "giving serious consideration" to blocking the appointment of a new Environmental Protection Agency administrator until progress is made...

Despite pressure by lawmakers and local stakeholders to resume reviewing plans to close a gap in the Mississippi River levee, federal agencies are not ready to move forward. They cite the need for further coordination and study. The St. Johns Bayou and New Madrid Floodway Project -- to close the 1,500-foot gap in the levee and protect homes and farmland from periodic flooding -- dates back to the 1950s. ...

Twenty months after the Birds Point levee was breached, two of the three crevasses created have been restored to the levee's original height. When floodwaters at Cairo, Ill., reached 61 feet and were still rising in May 2011, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers detonated explosives at three points along the levee, following an emergency plan created after the flood of 1927. ...

ST. LOUIS (AP) -- Democratic Sen. Claire McCaskill is joining two Republican colleagues in calling for federal agencies to move ahead with plans to close a 1,500-foot gap in a southeast Missouri levee, a project long delayed over environmental concerns...

The first phase of work to restore the Birds Point levee to its original height has been completed. Glen Bullington, a civil engineer technician with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, on Friday said the second phase of building on the levee is about 75 percent complete. ...

MEMPHIS, Tenn. -- The remains of American Indian tribe members discovered in the Birds Point-New Madrid floodway in Missouri will be respectfully preserved under an agreement signed Tuesday. Leaders of the Quapaw Tribe and the Delaware Nation joined Col. ...

OLIVE BRANCH, Ill. -- Before long, the tiny Southern Illinois town of Olive Branch may not exist. Many residents are pursuing a federal buyout after Olive Branch was devastated by historic flooding in spring 2011. Until the day comes when it is no more, possibly the biggest draw in town is the Tour de Shawnee. ...

Progress is steadily being made with flood-recovery projects on both sides of the Mississippi River. Cairo, Ill., will be the beneficiary of a $7.8 million contract awarded by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers for its flood-control projects, and officials in the Missouri counties of Mississippi and New Madrid are pleased with efforts to repair levees that were intentionally breached during last year's massive flooding...

Members of Missouri's Interim Commission on Agriculture Innovation and Economic Recovery listened intently Tuesday as Mississippi County farmers described how homes, churches and crops washed away after the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers intentionally breached the Birds Point levee last spring...

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) -- Farmers this spring were able to plant all but a few thousand acres of the land deluged by last year's flooding along on the Missouri River and the intentional breaching of a Mississippi River levee in southeast Missouri, U.S. Department of Agriculture figures show...

OLIVE BRANCH, Ill. -- Residents who lost their homes during last year's historic flood are making progress toward relocating their community out of the Mississippi River's path. The Olive Branch Area Community Development Corp. met Tuesday with advisers from Southern Illinois University in Carbondale to discuss the group's next steps. ...

OLIVE BRANCH, Ill. -- The Olive Branch Area Community Development Corp. will meet at 4:30 p.m. Tuesday at the Alexander County Highway Department office in Olive Branch. The organization formed following the 2011 flood. It is seeking not-for-profit status in order to apply for grants to help purchase land where residents of Olive Branch can rebuild their community and avoid regular flooding...

Restoration of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers' flood risk management system is moving along quickly through the summer in Missouri and Kentucky. The corps awarded contracts Tuesday for repair of the lower crevasse in the Birds Point-New Madrid Floodway levee in New Madrid County, Mo., and the installation of 112 relief wells and associated drainage work in Fulton County, Ky...

BENTON, Mo. -- Scott County officials have one less thing to worry about: the levee. Presiding Commissioner Jamie Burger said during the regular county Commission meeting that the county recently reviewed a letter from the Federal Emergency Management Agency regarding the levee from Commerce, Mo., to Birds Point -- and it was good news...

CHARLESTON, Mo. -- Mississippi County will not receive money from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers for damage caused by the activation of the Birds Point-New Madrid Floodway in May 2011. County Clerk Junior DeLay presented a letter from the corps' Tort Claims Division dated July 17 to county commissioners during their regular weekly meeting Thursday...

CAIRO, Ill. -- Alexander County is still recovering from last year's flooding, local government officials say, but when the water comes next time, they believe they'll fare much better. Major projects to reconstruct and reinforce levee and drainage systems throughout the county are ongoing, or will soon begin. ...

A contract to begin rebuilding the lower crevasse in the Birds Point-New Madrid levee system should be awarded next week, according to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. The corps released an update July 20 that said overall rebuilding efforts in the confluence area of the Mississippi and Ohio rivers are proceeding on time or are ahead of schedule, due in part to the weather...

A committee formed to assess the state's ongoing disaster recovery efforts will hold its first meeting next week. Lt. Gov. Peter Kinder of Cape Girardeau will lead the Interim Committee on Disaster Preparedness, Response and Recovery formed by state House Speaker Steven Tilley, R-Perryville. ...

ST. LOUIS (AP) -- The Army Corps of Engineers now believes the Birds Point levee in southeast Missouri will be fully restored by the end of the year, corps officials said Tuesday. The corps announced in May that it had awarded $20 million in contracts to repair the levee that was intentionally breached at the height of spring flooding in 2011, in part to help save the flood wall protecting nearby Cairo, Ill. ...

CAIRO, Ill. -- A breakdown of more than $100 million that will be spent for recovery projects in three states was announced by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers during a visit to Cairo on Thursday.

MEMPHIS, Tenn. -- A year after the Mississippi River swelled to near-historic proportions and flooded farms and homes from Illinois to Louisiana, the level along the waterway's southern half is so low that cargo barges have run aground and their operators have been forced to lighten their loads...

Cape Girardeau native Lt. Gov Peter Kinder will lead a commission that includes Southeast Missouri lawmakers to study disaster response.

Work will resume on the Birds Point levee now that a protest to a construction bid has been deemed "without merit" by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

The storms that dumped 20 inches of rain in Cape Girardeau last April were more than Addie Marie Walker's roof could take. More than a year later, she was living in a house with a leaky roof, having been rejected by every agency she'd turned to for help...

WYATT, Mo. -- Work has stopped on the frontline levee that protects the Birds Point-New Madrid Floodway from the Mississippi River. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers said in a news release Tuesday that work had stopped after a letter dated June 12 was received protesting the bid for repairs...

On Saturday, the Southeast Missouri American Red Cross and Southeast Missouri Salvation Army chapters will hold a Family Fun Festival to benefit local victims of disasters...

MILLER CITY, Ill. -- These farmers say they didn't have a choice. They couldn't wait for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to repair the Miller City levee after last spring's record-setting flood. They had crops to get planted and those crops needed protection...

ST. LOUIS -- The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers said Thursday it has awarded $20 million worth of contracts to three firms to repair the Birds Point levee, which was intentionally breached last year to alleviate flooding on the Mississippi River...

BISMARCK, N.D. -- Two U.S. senators who symbolize disagreements between upstream and downstream states over management of the Missouri River say last year's historic flooding was a unifying moment. Sen. Roy Blunt, R-Mo., and Sen. John Hoeven, R-N.D., toured dams and levees along the river Tuesday and Wednesday. ...

A year after the worst flood longtime residents can remember, many are thinking of moving their community out of the river's path. A group of those whose homes were destroyed have organized to form the Olive Branch Area Community Development Corporation...

The Jackson, Gordonville and Delta Railroad is planning to abandon a 13-mile section of unused tracks and some Allenville residents are worried they will be left without an emergency flood escape route once the railbed is removed. The section of railway between Gordonville and Delta has not been used since 1997 and is in a dangerous state of disrepair in some sections, according to company president Robert L. ...

OLIVE BRANCH, Ill. -- Residents interested in rebuilding Olive Branch after last year's flood will meet today to discuss future plans. The meeting will begin at 4:30 p.m. at the Alexander County Highway Department, 26799 Highway 3 in Olive Branch...

A federal judge has tossed out a big portion of a class-action lawsuit brought by more than 140 Southeast Missouri farmers who are seeking millions from the U.S. government for damages caused by last year's intentional breaching of the Birds Point levee...

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers began removing four vertical feet of temporary barriers along the top of two miles of the Birds Point levee on Thursday.

CHARLESTON, Mo. -- Gov. Jay Nixon made a stop in Southeast Missouri bringing good news for city and county officials: Additional funds to repair damage from last year's floods are on the way. The state will provide nearly $1.5 million in additional assistance to help several Missouri towns and counties in repairing or replacing roads, bridges and other public infrastructure damaged or destroyed by the devastating floods of 2011. ...

It was his call. Maj. Gen. Michael Walsh became a familiar figure in the days leading up to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers' activation of the Birds Point-New Madrid Floodway. The soggy masses awaited word daily from the silver-haired two-star general who held the fate of communities in a half-dozen states in his hands. ...

Randy Sutton had heard that the three-star general with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers had officially made the decision. He had seen the Missouri National Guard trucks roll through, ordering everyone from their homes. And now, the Mississippi County farmer was along a dark rainy roadway with everyone else awaiting the blast...

ST. LOUIS -- A year after the intentional breach of the Birds Point levee in Southeast Missouri, Sen. Roy Blunt is criticizing the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers for its rebuilding pace.