500-YEAR FLOODS DON'T HAVE CALENDAR OR CLOCK TO FOLLOW

After a relatively dry April -- the month that traditionally brings seasonal rains in these parts -- it started looking like a dry spring was in store. But nature has a way of fooling around, particularly as the seasons switch from cool to hot.

With memories of the Great Flood of 1993 still so fresh, there weren't many thoughts at the beginning of May that the Mississippi River and its tributaries would go on another tear so soon. After all, 500-year floods ought to come about every half a millenium, right?

But nature has no clock, no calendar, no rules. And when large amounts of rain began falling in the nation's midsection, the water had to go someplace. Eventually the runoff made it to the mightly Mississippi, corseted by levees and flood walls. Almost before anyone took notice, the river levels were shooting up to near the records of just two years ago.

In some areas, particularly to the south of Cape Girardeau and along the Big Muddy River in Illinois, the water rose higher and faster than ever before. One reason, the experts said, was that the Ohio River just a few miles downstream was high, in effect creating a watery barrier to the normal flow of the Mississippi. As a result, towns along the river like Commerce began flooding worse this week than the worst of the 1993 flood.

Cape Girardeau's crest at midweek was still below the high point of 1993, but heavy rains in the Midwest threatened to bring another surge.

Meanwhile, residents and business owners and farmers in the flood-prone areas fought the all-too-familiar floodwater. In a way, they were better off because of the experiences of two years ago. They know how to fight back -- and they are fighting hard.

But the other side of the coin isn't as bright. The Flood of 1995 isn't grabbing the attention of two years ago, and there are fewer volunteers willing to spend backbreaking hours filling sandbags and helping to shore up levees. There are any number of possible explanations: The affected area is so much smaller than before, or the suddenness with which the waters rose caught everyone off guard, or recollections of 1993 were too raw.

For those whose homes and businesses and fields have been quickly covered with the stinking, brown floodwaters, however, the Flood of 1993 is just as real and heartbreaking as two years ago. Added to the flow toward the Gulf of Mexico have been the tears of those who battle and watch day by day. Some have already lost the war.

At some point, the floodwaters will again recede. Victims and onlookers alike hope and pray that it will be soon. Then will come the worst part of all: cleaning up.

There are many needs in times of natural disasters. Right now volunteers are urgently needed to help the continuing fight against the rising waters. Then there will be a need for cleaning supplies and more help. Those who shoveled the muck from their homes two years ago will remember the loneliness of that effort, as volunteers who worked so hard to fight the flood returned to lives of their own.

The help and assistance of anyone who can volunteer time or donate money and cleaning supplies would be most welcome. At times it seems impossible to win any skirmishes against the forces of the mighty river. But it has always been within the hearts and minds of hardy souls to try -- and to try again so soon.