METROPOLIS, IL – APRIL 27: A boat carries passengers to Harrah’s Casino, which was closed due to flooding, April 27, 2011 along the Ohio River in Metropolis, Illinois. Severe storms have caused rivers and streams to rise in parts of southeastern Missouri and southern Illinois. (Photo by Whitney Curtis/Getty Images)
CAIRO, Ill. (IRN) – The Ohio River keeps rising in Cairo.
The river level reached 60.58 feet Monday, a record high, beating the mark of 59.5 feet set in 1937. It’s expected to crest Tuesday at 61.5 feet and stay there at least until Friday.
Cairo’s floodwall can theoretically handle 64 feet, but the problem now is sand boils, which threaten to flood the town if they burst, says Alexander County emergency management coordinator Marty Nicholson. “We have got one sand boil that is humongous,” she said. “The Corps of Engineers has been working on it and keeping it controlled and it is stabilized at this time.”
A sand boil is a result of water pushed under the levees and welled up through the soil behind them.
CAIRO, Ill. -- High floodwaters span from Cairo to Bird's Point, Mo., approximately 30 miles, April 26, 2011. The Coast Guard is supporting the Army Corps of Engineers and the State of Missouri in their efforts to minimize damage to property, structures and to help save lives from historic flood levels. U. S. Coast Guard photo by Petty Officer 3rd Class Casey J. Ranel.
The Army Corps of Engineers is still undecided on opening a floodway down river, which would drop the river level three to seven feet. Explosives are being placed in a levee on the Mississippi River so they can be detonated if the decision is made. Opening the Birds Point-New Madrid Floodway would flood 130,000 acres of Missouri farmland. It hasn’t been done since 1937.
Cairo Mayor Judson Childs says nearly all residents have evacuated. He announced a voluntary evacuation last week, changed it to “mandatory” over the weekend, and after emergency personnel went door-to-door notifying people, only a few families remain.
Related:
Supreme Court OK’s Levee Blast
Southern Missourians Flee Ahead of Levee Break
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