OHIO SETS SIGHTS ON METROPOLIS; CREST SHOULD ARRIVE SUNDAY

METROPOLIS, Ill. -- After more than a week of anxious waiting, riverfront residents are moving to higher ground as the Ohio River heads toward its highest crest in years.

State prisoners sandbagged homes and city buildings while Players Casino employees raised a temporary walkway linking the riverboat to a nearby hotel parking lot that is unlikely to flood.

Some Metropolis residents have evacuated because the Ohio River is out of its banks following 6-inch rains over the area last weekend and almost twice that much elsewhere in the Ohio River basin.

"We've moved eight or nine families out of the Second Street area here," said O.D. Troutman, coordinator of Emergency Services for Metropolis and Massac counties. "Some streets have been blocked off, and we'll be watching the river closely."

Troutman said Tuesday that a number of sandbagging operations were under way.

Metropolis doesn't have a river gauge, but Tuesday's Ohio River stage at nearby Brookport was 47.4 feet, the highest since 1989. The river went up 3 feet Monday night.

"A crest is expected at Brookport late Sunday or early Monday unless we get more rain," said Troutman.

The river already has inundated basements of some homes in Joppa, Metropolis and Brookport.

The Ohio is expected to crest at 55 feet on the Cairo gauge, 15 feet over flood stage. The record is 59.5 feet in 1937.

It is unlikely that flooding will cut Metropolis off from neighboring communities or force widespread evacuations. People should still be able to get to the casino hotel, Troutman said.

Even so, Troutman said he had ordered another 4,000 sandbags to help protect homeowners trying to save their property from flooding.

Cecil Worthen, who has lived just across the street from the Ohio since 1947, said he had a better idea: He was preparing Monday to move his trailer to higher ground.

It is a routine he has gone through several times since his home was destroyed by flooding in 1974. But he isn't letting it get him down.

"Nothing I feel is going to change that water coming up. So I'm just going to get ahead of it and stay happy," he said.

Metropolis flooding has forced Players Casino riverboat to make new arrangements for boardings.

The rising water is not expected to affect casino play or boarding times but players will be boarding from the Players Theater adjacent to Players Hotel. Both are on higher ground.

Players temporarily will close the Dockside Lounge, Celebrity Buffet, Bar & Grill, VIP Lounge and Players Gift Shop. Limited food service will be available on the fourth-floor Casino Snack Bar.

All ticketing and limited casino services will be available in the theater.

Since parking will be affected visitors should allow extra time to board the casino. The lower parking lot at the casino is under water.

"This is the first time in Players Casino history -- almost four years -- that the water has been this high," said Mike Crider, vice president and general manager of Players Casino. "Our employees have worked day and night to move our land-based services so we can still provide visitors with the best possible service.

(The Associated Press contributed to this report.)