Water floods more of Cape Girardeau County

As trucks dumped gravel on the road in front of his Dutchtown home to build an emergency levee, Mark Easley crammed what he could carry into his van. His home, at 8211 State Highway 74, is trapped between rising floodwaters and the emergency levee now being built.

"I can't believe they're doing this to us," Easley said. "We didn't get no warning."

He said he wasn't told in advance about the plans to erect the emergency levee in front of his house in the south lane of Highway 74. For three days, with the help of family members, he'd been sandbagging around his house making a levee of his own. On Tuesday he hurriedly packed what would fit into his van and left his home for the rising waters to claim.

The Mississippi River continued to rise to 43 feet at 5:30 p.m. Tuesday in Cape Girardeau, 11 feet above flood stage. It's forecast to crest at 44.5 feet on Friday, according to the National Weather Service.

Water and debris cover Highway 74 near Dutchtown, Mo. Residents and the Cape Girardeau County Highway Department worked today to build a levee to protect the town. (Melissa Miller)

Water and debris from the Diversion Channel cover parts of Highway 74, where a 2,000-foot-long emergency levee is scheduled to be completed by today. Highway 25 was closed at 8 p.m. Tuesday at its intersection with Highway 74 and Route A.

Crews worked all night long to complete the 6-foot levee, said Steve Kuykendall, construction inspector with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

It is being built by the Cape Girardeau County Highway Department with materials provided by the corps. About 7,000 tons of rock from Strack Stone will be covered in plastic and topped with sandbags, he said. That's 438 dump truck loads of rock.

"The river is rising faster than projected because of the local rainfall," said Chip Newman, geotechnical engineer with the corps. "We can predict what the river will do, but what we don't know is what's coming down from the hills in headwater."

Many local residents, members of Teen Challenge and Southeast Missouri State University's fraternal service organizations filled sandbags Tuesday near the intersection of highways 74 and 25. Inmates from Cape Girardeau and Charleston also helped.

"We'll stay here as long as we can," said Angie Crutsinger, a Dutchtown resident who helped coordinate the sandbagging station.

Amy Russell holds a bag for Robert Trankle to fill with sand to build a protective barrier a relative's home seen here on Highway 74 at Dutchtown. Left, Cicely Holder, another relative, also helped in the process. (Melissa Miller)

Throughout Monday night and all day Tuesday, members of the Gordonville Fire Department used firetrucks to pump water out of the area where the levee was being built.

Parts of Cape Girardeau County most affected by flooding are Dutchtown, Allenville and all low-lying areas along the Diversion Channel, said Eric McGowen, county emergency management agency public information officer.

Parts of north Cape Girardeau's Red Star District are underwater, although not many residents are affected, said Cape Girardeau city manager Scott Meyer. However, the city is following its flood plan based on the river's elevation. The city has provided two sandbag stations at the Red House and the Red Star Church.

Most of the area now flooded was purchased by the city through the federal buyout program after previous floods.

At this point, flooding along North Main Street isn't expected to cause any delays in the Isle of Capri casino construction schedule because it included rain days. The company expects to open the new roadway on time, said Jill Haynes, corporate communications director with Isle of Capri.

North of the casino site, employees at LeGrand Brothers Transmission on North Water Street in Cape Girardeau filled sandbags Tuesday afternoon in the Red Star Baptist Church parking lot. Neighbors and customers also helped.

"We're hoping it don't get too high," James Avery said. "If it does, we're not going to fight it too hard."

They planned to just sandbag around the doors of the building, he said.

During the 1993 flood, when the Mississippi River reached 48.49 feet at Cape Girardeau, LeGrand Brothers had two feet of water inside its shop. Avery's home, near North Water and Fourth streets, had water up to the third step of its front porch, he said. Right now, water is inching up into his yard.

About 85 members of the Missouri National Guard assembled Tuesday at the Cape Girardeau Armory to assist in flood relief efforts in Southeast Missouri.

Troops and heavy equipment from the National Guard in Cape Girardeau will move south to flooded areas, including Poplar Bluff, Dexter and Sikeston, Mo., said Capt. Carter Roberts of the 1140th Engineer Battalion based in Cape Girardeau.

Troops may conduct health and welfare checks in flooded areas, assist with evacuations and sandbagging. Members of the Cape Girardeau Fire Department are assisting Doniphan and Poplar Bluff-area public safety personnel with water rescues.

The Southeast Missouri chapter of the American Red Cross continues to operate a shelter for flood victims at the Osage Centre in Cape Girardeau. Nine people registered at the shelter Tuesday afternoon. A shelter for pets has been opened at the 4-H building in Arena Park.

Southeast Missouri Food Bank in Cape Girardeau is responding to a Missouri State Emergency Management Agency request for 10,000 bottles of water to provide to regions affected by the floods. Through a partner agencies in Butler County Southeast Missouri Food Bank has already distributed a truckload of food and supplies to helped displaced families in the Poplar Bluff area.

mmiller@semissourian.com

388-3646

Pertinent address:

1237 North Water St., Cape Girardeau, MO

8211 State Highway 74, Dutchtown, MO