Cape, Stoddard, Scott counties eligible for federal flood help

At the same time state and federal officials on Tuesday were announcing that people and businesses in Cape Girardeau, Scott and Stoddard counties are eligible for federal help to recover from floods, National Weather Service forecasters were watching computer models that show another round of heavy rain on the way.

A storm that brought almost 1 1/2 inches of rain to Cape Girardeau on Monday evening raised the levels of area creeks and rivers but did not result in any major flooding problems, emergency officials reported. The additional rain did, however, stop and reverse the gradual fall of the Mississippi River, sending it above flood stage again at Cape Girardeau by 1 a.m. The river was below the 32-foot flood stage measure for 20 hours.

At 8 p.m. Tuesday the river reading was 33.3 feet and it is predicted to rise to 37 feet by Friday afternoon. The river crested most recently at 41.04 feet March 24 following the record setting March 18 and 19 rainstorms.

At 35.5 feet, the Themis Street floodgate in the downtown floodwall must be closed.

A storm expected to reach Southeast Missouri sometime after midnight tonight could dump 3 to 5 inches of rain or more across southern portions of Missouri, Indiana and Illinois, as well as portions of Arkansas, Tennessee and Kentucky.

Some models are showing as much as 7 inches of rain from Cape Girardeau to the north. Others are showing the smaller amounts. The best bet is to anticipate at least 3 inches of rain during the storm, which will move through in waves and leave the area sometime Friday morning, said Mike York, a meteorologist with the weather office in Paducah, Ky.

"When you try to forecast rainfall amounts, it is not something very easy to do three or four days in advance," York said.

The entire region is under a flash flood watch from midnight tonight through Friday afternoon.

The announcement adding Cape Girardeau, Scott and Stoddard counties to the list of counties with residents eligible for federal aid brings to 35 the number of Missouri counties where individuals and businesses can seek federal grants and loans to recover from the flooding.

Richard Knaup, emergency operations director for Cape Girardeau County, said he expects FEMA to set up a disaster recovery center in the county within a short time. The center will be a place for people to apply for federal grants, such as money for emergency housing or repairs to make a home safe and sanitary, or loans from the Small Business Administration to replace lost property, such as cars, or to put a home or residence back into good repair.

The forecasts over the next two days are cause for concern, but no special precautions have been taken in advance of the storm, Knaup said. "I know where my resources are and how to get them there quickly," he said.

And while he said he is sure flat areas at the southern end of the county will again see flooding, "I am not anticipating anything like when we had 12 inches," Knaup said.

Creeks, rivers on the rise

In Bollinger County, where the Castor River at Zalma swelled from a trickle of 370 cubic feet per second to an unrecordable amount in excess of 95,000 cubic feet per second in less than 24 hours during the March 18 and 19 storm, Monday evening's rain and continued high water levels are causing concern, said Jim Bollinger, emergency operations director for the county.

The Castor River was high -- it was running at nearly 10,000 cubic feet per second Tuesday at Zalma -- and Crooked Creek in Marble Hill reached the top of its banks during the Monday storm, Bollinger said.

"The creeks are up, and that is what has got us worried about tomorrow and the next day," he said. "They are talking about 5 inches of rain."

With the assessments for public assistance completed, FEMA teams were assessing damage to public property in Bollinger County on Tuesday and planning to move on for additional assessments in Cape Girardeau and Perry counties in coming days, said Jack Heesch, a spokesman for FEMA.

Rainfall in March broke the official record for the wettest month at Cape Girardeau by almost an inch after strong storms brought 1.45 inches of rain to the city Monday evening. In all, 17.83 inches fell in March, surpassing the 16.89 inches recorded in May 1973 and far eclipsing the 11.89 inches recorded in March 1977, previously the wettest March on record.

August 2007 was officially the driest month at Cape Girardeau, with 0.01 inches of rain.

Gov. Matt Blunt announced that residents of areas declared eligible for individual assistance may also be eligible for disaster unemployment payments are aimed at people who are not otherwise eligible for unemployment compensation. Farmers, the self-employed and others who are denied regular unemployment benefits may now be eligible, Blunt said in a news release.

The coming storm won't end the area's weather woes, forecaster York said. "it is going to be a wet pattern through next week," he said.

Forecast models haven't settled on a prediction, he said, "other than that it looks like it will be kind of damp."

rkeller@semissourian.com

335-6611, extension 126

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