WORLD> America
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WORLD> America
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Rising waters in Plains inundate bridge, farmland
(Agencies)
Updated: 2008-06-11 11:19 Canton, Mo., about 150 miles north of St. Louis, could get the worst of the Mississippi River's flooding. The town of 2,500 is expected to see a crest on June 18 that is nearly 12 feet above flood stage. Mayor Joe Clark said the levee is high enough to protect the community, but a sandbagging operation is planned to make sure it holds. "I would say we're taking it in stride at this point," Clark said. "We live with this all the time." Downtown Hannibal, Mo., which includes Mark Twain's boyhood home, is protected by a flood levee that was completed just months before devastating floods in 1993. Still, a few homes would be flooded if the crest prediction is accurate. In Wisconsin on Tuesday, engineers and contractors began repairing damage done when 267-acre Lake Delton overflowed and drained, washing away three houses. The rushing water had ripped apart underground sewer lines, and on Tuesday morning raw sewage was pouring out of the pipes and running down the Wisconsin River. A dozen workers stretched a temporary sewer line across the 200-yard breach. Gov. Jim Doyle said his office said he would seek a federal disaster declaration. Wisconsin officials also decided to close the westbound lanes of Interstate 94 because water from the rising Rock River was just inches away from the road. In Michigan, utility companies said it would take several days to fully restore service to nearly a quarter million homes and businesses without power after several days of severe storms. In Minnesota, Gov. Tim Pawlenty signed an executive order declaring a state of emergency in two counties hit by flooding in the state's southeast corner. In northeastern Iowa, the tiny town of New Hartford was still cleaning up from its second disaster in two weeks. Water poured over a dike and swamped much of the south side of town late Sunday, inundating residents who were just starting to recover from a May 25 tornado that killed two people. More than 150 of the town's 650 residents had to be rescued from their homes. "We're just discouraged, and a little angry," said Corey Woods, a metal spinner and security guard. Elsewhere, the East Coast baked in a heat wave with temperatures in the upper 90s from Georgia all the way to northern New England, where the weather service reported a Tuesday afternoon high of 99 at Portsmouth, N.H. Thunderstorms promising relief from the heat for parts of the Northeast knocked out power Tuesday to more than 50,000 homes and businesses. The heat forced some schools to close early, and public school teachers in New York City filed a complaint with the state over having to hold classes in sweltering classrooms. Philadelphia officials blamed the deaths of two women on the four-day heat wave. |
