2011 Flood: A year later, May 2

On this day, May 2

Cape river level: 46.2 feet

Cape flood stage: 32 feet

Cairo river level: 61.05 feet

Cairo flood stage: 40 feet

Rainfall: 1.44 inches

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers exploded a large section of the Birds Point levee just after 10 p.m. The corps hoped the move would divert up to 4 feet of water off the river at Cairo, Ill. By midnight, the river stage at Cairo had dropped from the record crest of 61.72 feet at10 p.m. to 61.13 feet. Heavy downpours overnight, with some areas receiving 5 inches of rain, caused the Black River to rise sharply near Poplar Bluff, Mo., where a week earlier a flash flood caused the emergency evacuation of 1,000 people.