Cairo residents still barred from returning to homes

CAIRO, Ill. -- Mayor Tyrone Coleman isn't taking any risks when it comes to the safety of the city's residents.

At a Tuesday afternoon news conference, he said the mandatory evacuation order issued Saturday due to unprecedented rainfall and flooding would not yet be lifted.

The Ohio River at Cairo dropped from 61.72 feet to 60.2 between 10 p.m. Monday and 1 p.m. Tuesday, between the first and second breaches of the Birds Point-New Madrid Floodway. The river dropped to 59.95 by 10 p.m. Tuesday.

Only large vehicles were permitted to drive through floodwaters covering the northbound lane of Illinois Highway 3 just north of Cairo, Ill. late Tuesday afternoon, May 3, 2011. With Cairo closed, other traffic was diverted north on Highway 37 toward Mounds. (Fred Lynch)

Coleman, U.S. Corps of Engineers officials and other emergency personnel plan to continue assessing the situation before letting people back into the city. "We are in the process of making our city safe for our residents to be able to return," he said.

Any residents who stayed in the city and checked in properly with law enforcement will be allowed to exit and re-enter Cairo with identification. About 100 people, according to law enforcement, have stayed within city limits. Thousands of people, including residents of a nursing home and mental health assisted-living facility, started to leave town Saturday.

Coleman didn't say when residents would be able to return, only that many are working to resolve the situation as quickly as possible.

"Professional personnel of the state and local levels are working toward this goal to ensure that all the residents are able to return to some level of normalcy," he said. "I am asking for continued patience and prayer as we continue through this time of crisis."

While Cairo city officials were relieved to hear the news of the breach Monday and see river levels drop, so was Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn. He said Tuesday he's "very grateful" for the intentional breach of a levee to save the small Southern Illinois town. Quinn asked people to pray for those in the region who are battling the floods and also warned there would be a lot of water in Southern Illinois in the coming weeks.

Several routes to Cairo remained closed Tuesday, including Highway 3 in Olive Branch, Ill., at the Tamms, Ill./Olive Branch Road. There was also still no access to the city from the south; U.S. 60/62 was still closed due to high water.

Olive Branch was still quiet Tuesday after water spilled over the road Monday, forcing more people to leave the city. Families in the small town began sandbagging around their homes last week when the river and Horseshoe Lake started to rapidly rise around them. Only county crews were working in the city Tuesday to help recede the waters.

Alexander County Sheriff Tim Brown said Tuesday an incident in Tamms, where crews were working to control seepage from the Cache River and nearby tributaries, was under control.

"They had a nice-sized hole where water was shooting over, but it's OK now. They evacuated a few people as a precaution, but I think it's OK," Brown said. However, Highway 127 south of Tamms was still closed Tuesday night.

With help from other county personnel, Brown has been monitoring flooding in Southern Illinois for days, including assisting in water rescues.

Brown said a woman on Monday had to be rescued from her residence near Hodges Park, south of Tamms and east of Olive Branch.

He said he was relieved to know that after the corps executed two phases of its levee breach that the river level was dropping. The National Weather Service in Paducah, Ky., is forecasting it to drop below 59.5 feet -- the Ohio's old record -- on Saturday.

"It's a good feeling. It's always a good feeling when it's going down," Brown said.

Brown added that the department has had no reports of injuries in the county due to flooding.

ehevern@semissourian.com

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Pertinent address:

Cairo, IL