Significant flooding possible on Mississippi River

HANNIBAL, Mo. -- Steve Terry sloshed through ankle deep water Tuesday as he prepared to move his Mark Twain Riverboat a quarter-mile up the Mississippi River. The fast-rising river prompted the hurried installation of flood gates that block access to the boat's downtown dock, forcing Terry to relocate to a temporary spot to launch cruises.

Terry first started working on the paddle-wheeler when he was a teenager in the 1970s. He now owns the boat. For a man who makes his livelihood on the river, he was barely worried by the impending flood.

"This is life on the river," Terry said. "It's just what we do. We don't have a choice."

Hannibal is among several towns along the Mississippi bracing for another round of flooding. This one is significant.

Recent rains in Iowa and elsewhere to the north, combined with rains in northeast Missouri, have created concerns for residents in and near towns like Canton, La Grange, Hannibal, Clarksville and Winfield in Missouri and Quincy and Grafton in Illinois, National Weather Service hydrologist Karl Sieczynski said Tuesday.

"This is major flooding," Sieczynski said. "Stay tuned and be prepared."

River levels at most of the towns Tuesday were just a few feet above flood stage, but the river is expected to rise dramatically over the next week or two as tributaries drain into the Mississippi. Sieczynski said residents who live in flood plains near the affected towns "should be moving to higher ground already."

In Cape Girardeau, the National Weather Service is predicting the Mississippi River will crest at 40.5 feet June 18.

Canton, about 150 miles north of St. Louis, may get the worst of it. The town of 2,500 is expected to see a crest of 25.7 feet on June 18. That's nearly 12 feet above flood stage and just 3 feet short of 1993 levels.

Mayor Joe Clark said the top of the levee that protects all but one home in the community is at 27.5 feet -- less than 2 feet above the projected crest. He's confident it will hold, but a sandbagging operation is planned just to make sure.

"I would say we're taking it in stride at this point," Clark said. "We live with this all the time."

Hannibal's downtown that includes Mark Twain's boyhood home is protected by a flood levee that was completed in 1992, just months before the devastating Great Flood of 1993. Still, a few homes would be flooded if the crest prediction is accurate. Route 79 would be shut down to the south.

The weather service expects a crest of 27.6 feet in Hannibal on June 19, nearly 12 feet above flood stage. That would be the fourth-highest ever and would be within about 4 feet of the record set in July 1993.

On Tuesday, the town was getting ready. Workers barricaded some streets. Flood gates were installed along the riverfront. Workers at Bubba's restaurant -- along with the riverboat, the only business on the river side of the levee -- packed up and moved everything out of harm's way. Tourists from as far away as Vermont climbed atop the levee for a look at the river.

Merchants behind the levee were unconcerned. Inside Becky's Old Fashioned Ice Cream and Emporium, owners Frank North and Sara Anton were more worried about media reports scaring away visitors than they were about the flood itself.

"There's no reason for the flood to keep people away," Anton said. "If the river rises and the river falls, this will be OK."

Even if the river nears 1993 levels, the situation is far different from 15 years ago, North said. In '93, the Missouri and several other rivers also flooded. For a while, every bridge from Burlington, Iowa, to St. Louis was closed.

"Hopefully this won't be so widespread," North said.

The predicted crests would mean water would reach near a railroad bridge in Quincy, to Main Street in Louisiana, to Front Street in Clarksville.

Minor to moderate flooding is predicted further south on the river in St. Louis, Cape Girardeau and other communities.

In Canton, the town has had more than its share of bad fortune in recent years. A tornado five years ago destroyed Culver-Stockton College's athletic complex. A downtown fire damaged several businesses in 2005. Now, more floods.

Clark said the community is resilient.

"I guess we have to be," he said.