Heavy rains in Missouri contribute to flooding

ST. LOUIS -- Drenching rains continued to cause flooding problems Wednesday in parts of Missouri, and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers had to increase the amount of water released from the manmade Mark Twain Lake.

The Missouri Water Patrol said Wednesday that it closed a lengthy section of the Salt River, from below the Clarence Cannon dam on the lake to the Mississippi River, as a precaution. The large water releases from the lake were leading to unsafe currents and debris.

The patrol said boaters would not be allowed on that length of river, and also cautioned that hunting, fishing or sightseeing along the river bank should be avoided, due to potentially unsafe conditions. It was not clear when the river would reopen.

Officials reported that some homes below the lake near the Salt River have flooded. They don't have an exact count on how many houses took on water, but Ralls County Sheriff John Forney estimated that residents of about 30 low-lying homes in the county were still staying elsewhere due to flooding concerns.

The corps increased its water release rate from Clarence Cannon Dam to 50,000 cubic feet per second and again cautioned the water release could increase even more.

Elsewhere, as much as 8.5 inches of rain was reported overnight in the Kansas City suburb of Overland Park, Kan., The Kansas City Star reported on its Web site.

The rains brought several area streams above flood stage, but most were back in their banks by mid-Wednesday morning. Emergency responders in the region reported having to rescue a few drivers from high water.

The heavy rains also have driven the Missouri River to at or near flood stage through much of the central and eastern portions of the state. Flooding along the Missouri was minor, threatening only river bottom and agriculture land.

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AP writer Chris Blank in Jefferson City contributed to this report.