MODERATE FLOODING EXPECTED ALONG RIVER

Riverfront communities in Missouri were keeping a close eye on the rising Mississippi River Tuesday, planning for some moderate crests but hoping to avoid significant flood damage.

While a 400-mile stretch of the Mississippi was closed to boat traffic in parts of Minnesota and Iowa on Monday, no similar measures are planned in Missouri.

"We're looking for the river to crest toward the end of the month into May at four to six feet above the flood stage," National Weather Service hydrologist Scott Dummer said. "That's along the Mississippi from Canton, Mo., to Chester, Ill., with the exception of St. Louis."

Cape Girardeau probably won't even close its downtown floodgates to Mississippi River waters. Dean Surface of the Army Corps of Engineers office said the river will crest at 31 feet Monday or Tuesday, below the 32-foot flood stage.

"At this time, we don't have any indications that the river here will reach high flood proportions," Surface said.

No flooding was expected in St. Louis. Dummer said the city was more flood-resistant than some smaller communities because of levees, flood walls and its natural geography.

Dummer said the weather service was forecasting moderate spring floods elsewhere in the region, largely as a result of melting snow in Minnesota.

Smaller riverfront communities have been making plans and keeping close watch on the river, just in case.

The northeast Missouri town of Hannibal is predicted to experience a river crest around the end of the month of 23.5 feet, 7 1/2 feet above flood stage. The river is currently about two feet above flood stage there.

However, a levee finished just prior to the 1993 flood and floodgates in the downtown area were expected to prevent any damage.

In Louisiana, a town with about 4,000 residents 30 miles south of Hannibal, the river level was at 16.8 feet Tuesday morning, almost two feet above flood stage.

"I'm sitting here looking (at river levels) on the Internet," said city superintendent Kelly Henderson. "We're keeping an eyeball on it two or three times a day," he said.

Henderson said Louisiana has made improvements to protect its municipal water supply system following the 1993 flood. The town has closed one road thus far. "If it hits predicted levels, we may have to start closing some sections of roads," he said.

Ste. Genevieve watches

St. Genevieve is also keeping a close watch on river levels but hasn't reached flood stage yet. The town, which gained national attention as it fought unsuccessfully to save its old levee during the 1993 flood, now has a new one, along with a pump system.

"It's still about two feet under the flood stage," said Vernon Bauman, volunteer chairman of the Joint Levee Commission.

The river is nowhere near the point it was during the Flood of '93, when the community used more than 1 million sandbags, 200,000 tons of rock and fill, concrete highway dividers and thousands of rolls of plastic to try to hold back the river.

"If we don't get a lot of local rain during the high water, we should be in fine shape. This should be a piece of cake," Bauman said.

Spokesmen for the Coast Guard and Corps of Engineers in the St. Louis region said they are monitoring river levels and communicating with communities but have not had to take any flood-related action.

Groups that monitor the river said things could worsen if river levels continue to rise from snow melts and if severe rainfall arrives in upcoming weeks.

Those in riverfront communities know to never say never. Henderson said, "We always keep sandbags around."

Staff writer B. Ray Owen contributed to this report.