Mississippi crest danger recedes as it moves downriver

Sandbags and concrete road barriers hold the swollen waters of the Mississippi River away from homes in Buffalo, Iowa

In this story: Secondary rivers at lower levels Dealing with the aftermath RELATED STORIES, SITES

DAVENPORT, Iowa (CNN) -- Emergency officials were looking southward Wednesday as the Mississippi River flood crest moved through the Quad Cities area and headed toward Missouri like a meal through a snake.

"Right now, unless something changes significantly, or we lose a levee, we don't expect any major problems," said Iowa Emergency Management Director Ellen Gordon.

The river levels in southeastern Iowa are much lower than the records set in 1993.

VIDEO Davenport may flood because the city government prefers tourist and business dollars over an occasional disaster. CNN's Lilian Kim reports Play video (QuickTime, Real or Windows Media)    INTERACTIVE Techniques for fighting floodwaters    WEATHER FORECASTS Davenport, IA La Crosse, WI Shakopee, WI Grand Forks, ND Granite Falls, MN    RESOURCES CNN weather satellite: U.S. North Central TheIowaChannel.com - Worst Mississippi Flooding Hitting Quad Cities    ALSO Davenport, on the brink of the Mississippi, readies for cleanup Tired, but not defeated, flood victims ready to rebuild

"A lot of that has to do with lower levels on the Des Moines River," Gordon said. "Also, the Corps of Engineers have cut the flow on the Des Moines."

The forecasted crests on the Mississippi are 2 feet below the record at Muscatine, 4 feet below at Burlington, and 7 feet below at Keokuk.

But the water is still high, and it's started to impact river traffic along the Mississippi in central Missouri and southern Illinois.

Across the state line into Missouri, the U.S. Coast Guard issued a river advisory for a five-mile stretch around the port of St. Louis, advising against "downstreaming" operations.

The advisory requires all tows to have a minimum of 250 horsepower per 1,500 tons of cargo, and requires vessels to operate at the slowest safe navigable speed to reduce wakes.

Coast Guard Lt. Chris O'Neil said a commercial traffic ban on more than 400 miles of the upper Mississippi, issued more than a week ago, will continue but will be evaluated daily.

Secondary rivers at lower levels

State emergency management officials in Missouri said Wednesday they did not expect heavy flooding in their state, and were only taking precautionary measures as the floodwaters moved downstream.

"Unless we get a storm system that stalls and dumps a lot of rain in the area in a short period of time, the Corps of Engineers says that we should not be having the amount of flooding problems that Iowa has been having," said spokeswoman Susie Stonner.

"Many of the cities are protected by levees," she said. "The levees should hold and there should be no problems."

On the other side of the river, Illinois emergency officials said they were optimistic their state would experience no flooding problems.

Chris Tamminga, spokeswoman for the state's emergency management agency, said officials had been providing inmate labor and deploying National Guard troops for sandbagging and other operations the past week-and-a-half as the high water moved in. "We'll continue to do so until there appears to be no threat to Illinois," she said.

One factor helping downriver states was that the Missouri, Illinois and Ohio rivers were not flooding as badly as in previous years, when they poured floodwaters into the already-swollen Mississippi.

The past winter's snow pack in Missouri and southern Illinois also was not as great as previous years, leading to a smaller spring runoff, Stonner said.

Dealing with the aftermath

As the floodwaters start to recede to the north and crest to the south along the Iowa-Illinois border, the American Red Cross has begun to deal with the aftermath, both material and mental.

"As the water recedes there will be damage assessment," said Red Cross spokesman Peter Teahen. "Family services go out to see what people have lost, helping to replace furniture, beds, etc."

Mental health officials have been deployed to river communities up and down the upper Mississippi.

"The mental fatigue is a factor," Teahen said.

Some river towns have been battling the high water for three to four weeks.

River crests earlier than expected in Davenport
April 24, 2001
Mississippi breaches levee in town near Davenport
April 23, 2001
Davenport ballpark flooded as Guard sends more troops
April 22, 2001
Iowa levees feel weight of Mississippi
April 21, 2001
More rain forecast for flooded Midwest
April 20, 2001
Long weekend of rain threatens flooded Midwest
April 19, 2001

Federal Emergency Management Agency
Iowa National Guard
Minnesota Department of Public Safety
The National Weather Servicee
Quad City Times Newspaper
  • Flood2001.com

Note: Pages will open in a new browser window

External sites are not endorsed by CNN Interactive.