Cairo city government sets curfew for remaining residents

CAIRO, Ill. -- Cairo Mayor Tyrone Coleman has established a curfew for the approximately 100 residents that remain in the city.

From 8 p.m. to 6 a.m. no one except emergency personnel may be on the city streets, the city announced in a news release Monday. Emergency personnel consist of members of police and fire departments, ambulance personnel, street department employees, Alexander County Sheriff's Department employees, the Army Corps of Engineers, Illinois Emergency Management Agency personnel and the National Guard.

An employee who answered the phone at the Cairo Police Department said the city has not had problems with residents being out at night, but they had to enforce the curfew in writing for citizens' protection.

She said the city evacuation could possibly be lifted on Wednesday or Thursday depending of the Ohio and Mississippi river stages.

The Ohio River at Cairo was at 58.14 feet at 3 p.m. Monday, down from its record crest of 61.72 feet May 2 before the breaching of the levee at Birds Point that activated the Birds Point-New Madrid Floodway.

Pertinent address:

Cairo, IL