April 26, 2011

2011 Spring Flooding: Tuesday, April 26

Teen Challenge students David Howell, left, Joseph Wenning and Steve Durkin, right, work with about 45 students from Teen Challenge who filled sandbags Tuesday, April 26, 2011 at Dutchtown. The volunteers are working to fill 40,000 sandbags. (Fred Lynch)

Erica Cross stands on a friend's porch surrounded by floodwater Tuesday, April 26, 2011, in Poplar Bluff, Mo. Powerful storms that swept through the nation's midsection have pushed river levels to dangerous heights and are threatening to flood several towns in Missouri. (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson)

A street department worker patrols a flooded neighborhood Tuesday, April 26, 2011, in Poplar Bluff, Mo. Powerful storms that swept through the nation's midsection have pushed river levels to dangerous heights and are threatening to flood several towns in Missouri and officials now report a levee protecting Poplar Bluff from the Black River has breached. (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson)

KRISTIN EBERTS ~ keberts@semissourian.com Governor Nixon meets with state and local government officials, law enforcement officers and area farmers on Tuesday, April 26, 2011, at Delta Growers Association in Charleston, Mo, to discuss plans for dealing with area flooding.

KRISTIN EBERTS ~ keberts@semissourian.com Water covers County Road 301 near Birds Point levee on Tuesday, April 26, 2011.

FRED LYNCH ~ flynch@semissourian.com Danny Brown steps through his flooded back yard on Edgewood Park in Cairo, Ill. Tuesday, April 26, 2011. Brown said the water came in from the sewer and reached six feet in his basement before he was able to start four pumps to fight the flood. It's the worst flooding he's seen in the eight years he has lived there.

FRED LYNCH ~ flynch@semissourian.com Floodwater covers Washington Street in Cairo, Ill. on Tuesday, April 26, 2011.

Teen Challenge students Dustin Smith, left, Nick Davis and Shawn Holmes load sandbags filled by volunteers from Teen Challenge Tuesday, April 26, 2011 at Dutchtown. The crew would be working until 40,000 sandbags are filled. (Fred Lynch)

FRED LYNCH ~ flynch@semissourian.com Floodwater covers a yard in Cairo, Ill. on Tuesday, April 26, 2011.

FRED LYNCH ~ flynch@semissourian.com Floodwater covers a street in Cairo, Ill. on Tuesday, April 26, 2011.

FRED LYNCH ~ flynch@semissourian.com Floodwater covers Washington street in Cairo, Ill. on Tuesday, April 26, 2011.

FRED LYNCH ~ flynch@semissourian.com A street intersection is closed by floodwater in Cairo, Ill. on Tuesday, April 26, 2011.

FRED LYNCH ~ flynch@semissourian.com The Ohio River bridge is closed at Cairo, Ill. on Tuesday, April 26, 2011.

FRED LYNCH ~ flynch@semissourian.com Floodwater covers Washington Street in Cairo, Ill. on Tuesday, April 26, 2011.

FRED LYNCH ~ flynch@semissourian.com Floodwater covers a yard in Cairo, Ill. on Tuesday, April 26, 2011.

FRED LYNCH ~ flynch@semissourian.com The floodwall is closed at the Ohio River in Cairo, Ill. on Tuesday, April 26, 2011.

FRED LYNCH ~ flynch@semissourian.com A view of the Ohio River at Cairo, Ill. on Tuesday, April 26, 2011.

FRED LYNCH ~ flynch@semissourian.com The flood stage on the Ohio River at Cairo, Ill. on Tuesday, April 26, 2011.

A lawn statue is surrounded by floodwater outside a home Tuesday, April 26, 2011, in Poplar Bluff, Mo. Powerful storms that swept through the nation's midsection have pushed river levels to dangerous heights and are threatening to flood several towns in Missouri and officials now report a levee protecting Poplar Bluff from the Black River has breached. (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson)

FRED LYNCH ~ flynch@semissourian.com A view of the Mississippi River at Thebes, Ill. on Tuesday, April 26, 2011.

FRED LYNCH ~ flynch@semissourian.com The Mississippi River advances into Thebes, Ill. on Tuesday, April 26, 2011.

FRED LYNCH ~ flynch@semissourian.com The Mississippi River at Thebes, Ill. on Tuesday, April 26, 2011.

KRISTIN EBERTS ~ keberts@semissourian.com Floodwater covers the fields along Highway 60 outside of Wyatt, Mo., on Tuesday, April 26, 2011.

Water flows into portions of North Main Street in Cape Girardeau. The Mississippi River was approaching 11 feet above flood stage Tuesday.

Barge traffic moves along the channel of the flooding Mississippi River just north of where the Ohio River joins the Mississippi near Cairo, Ill. on Tuesday, April 26, 2011. The Army Corps of Engineers postponed its decision on a proposal to blow a huge hole in the Birds Point levee in southeast Missouri, just downriver of the confluence. The idea was hatched as a desperate bid to reduce the amount of water moving down the Mississippi. The channel of the Mississippi river is marked by the lines of tree that would normal mark the banks of the river. (AP Photo/St. Louis Post-Dispatch, David Carson) EDWARDSVILLE INTELLIGENCER OUT; THE ALTON TELEGRAPH OUT

Water and debris cover Highway 74 near Dutchtown, Mo. Residents and the Cape Girardeau County Highway Department worked today to build a levee to protect the town. (Melissa Miller)

Amy Russell holds a bag for Robert Trankle to fill with sand to build a protective barrier a relative's home seen here on Highway 74 at Dutchtown. Left, Cicely Holder, another relative, also helped in the process. (Melissa Miller)

Jason Byram carries his 4-year-old daughter Shelby Daves out of a rescue boat Tuesday, April 26, 2011, in Poplar Bluff, Mo. Powerful storms that swept through the nation's midsection have pushed river levels to dangerous heights and are threatening to flood several towns in Missouri. (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson)

Floodwaters surrounds several homes Tuesday, April 26, 2011, in Poplar Bluff, Mo. Powerful storms that swept through the nation's midsection have pushed river levels to dangerous heights and are threatening to flood several towns in Missouri and officials now report a levee protecting Poplar Bluff from the Black River has breached. (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson)

Shelby Daves, 4, is held by her mother Mikki Daves, right, after getting off a rescue boat with Shelby's father Jason Byram, left, Tuesday, April 26, 2011, in Poplar Bluff, Mo. Powerful storms that swept through the nation's midsection have pushed river levels to dangerous heights and are threatening to flood several towns in Missouri. (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson)

Steven Ward, with the Poplar Bluff Street Department, monitors a seepage in a temporary levee holding back floodwater from the Black River, Tuesday, April 26, 2011, in Poplar Bluff, Mo. Powerful storms that swept through the nation's midsection have pushed river levels to dangerous heights and are threatening to flood several towns in Missouri and officials now report a levee protecting Poplar Bluff from the Black River has breached. (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson)

Kasey Medley, right, stands on the front porch of her flooded home with her friend Erica Cass Tuesday, April 26, 2011, in Poplar Bluff, Mo. Powerful storms that swept through the nation's midsection have pushed river levels to dangerous heights and are threatening to flood several towns in Missouri and officials now report a levee protecting Poplar Bluff from the Black River has breached. (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson)

Detective Corey Mitchell with the Poplar Bluff Police Department adjusts traffic cones near a temporary levee holding back water from the Black River Tuesday, April 26, 2011, in Poplar Bluff, Mo. Powerful storms that swept through the nation's midsection have pushed river levels to dangerous heights and are threatening to flood several towns in Missouri and officials now report another levee area protecting Poplar Bluff from the Black River has breached. (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson)

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