Flooding in Cape Girardeau, Scott counties closes sections of roadways

The aftermath of storms late last week and early this week continued to be felt in Southeast Missouri communities along the Mississippi River today.

Water had formed over isolated areas of roadways in Cape Girardeau beginning in the early morning hours, closing sections of roadway near the downtown area. By 11 a.m., city public works officials had closed sections of road in 10 locations.

They are:

1400 block of North Rand Street

Main Street and First Street

Main and Second Street

Main and Third Street

North End Boulevard and Chestnut Street

500 block of La Cruz Street

East Cape Rock Drive near Twin Trees Park

1100, 1200 and 1300 blocks of Water Street

Near Commerce, flooding forced the closure of Route E between Route N and Water Street in the city.

Cape Girardeau traffic operations manager Bob Kutak said residents should not be concerned. He expected no additional flooding to occur in the city, as most of the flooded roadways were located in low-lying areas.

"Water is supposed to rise only a foot more, so this situation shouldn't be severe," he said. "People should be inconvenienced for only a couple of more days and then the water should have receded by Monday."

The river had reached 39.5 feet by 11 a.m. at Cape Girardeau. The National Weather Service predicted it would reach 40 feet by Saturday, two feet below what had been predicted on Wednesday.

Look for additional updates at semissourian.com throughout the day and in Saturday's print edition of the Southeast Missourian.