Miss. River expected to crest today

The Mississippi River is now expected to crest today at Cape Girardeau, according to the National Weather Service in Paducah, Ky.

The river is predicted to crest at 7 p.m. and reach 44.7 feet, the eighth highest level on record, before it begins to fall. Flood stage on the Cape Girardeau gauge is 32 feet.

According to Mike Petersen, spokesman for the St. Louis district of the Army Corps of Engineers, this change is hardly cause for concern.

"Basically, this means our engineers will be out working at least an extra day," he said. "We have people out right now monitoring levies and watching but so far we're not seeing anything we didn't expect."

Petersen also said that engineers were still involved in flood fighting efforts, such as sandbagging flood-prone areas, and will continue to keep watch in case an emergency situation should arise.

For the towns of Allenville, Dutchtown and Whitewater that depend on those sandbags and flood fighting efforts, the changing time of the crest is more a nuisance than a concern.

"Obviously, we're disappointed it will be another day before the river starts receding, but we don't anticipate any additional ill effects as a result of the delay," said Cape Girardeau County spokesman Eric McGowen.

The current forecast calls for the river to remain in major flood stage, more than 42 feet, into next week because of another system making its way into the area. The Cape Girardeau area is expected to get 1 to 2 inches of rain with isolated higher amounts possible, the National Weather Service reported.

Pertinent address:

Cape Girardeau MO