Poplar Bluff evacuees may go home soon

POPLAR BLUFF, Mo. -- The Black River is receding at Poplar Bluff and some 1,000 evacuees are now allowed to go home.

Officials in the Southeast Missouri community of 17,000 residents on Thursday lifted a mandatory evacuation order for a large section of town, where river water has been pouring over the top of the levee. Residents in the affected area can return home whenever they choose.

Many will find a mess left behind by the murky water. Officials don't yet know how many homes were damaged in Poplar Bluff and in a rural area of Butler County also protected by the levee.

The National Weather Service said Thursday that after a crest of 21.4 feet on Tuesday, the Black River at Poplar Bluff was down to 19.1 feet.