Historic Mississippi flooding threatens 17 MILLION people: Levees burst, water rises to record levels and officials warn of more deaths to come in crisis that has already claimed 20 lives

Wednesday, December 30, 2015
By Paul Martin

Severe storms are causing historic flooding in Missouri and Illinois
Nineteen levees on the Mississippi River are near overflowing; one has already failed in West Alton, Missouri
Seventeen million people are under flood warnings with hundreds of homes threatened
The governor of Missouri has declared a state of emergency and activated the National Guard
At least 20 deaths over several days in the region have been blamed on flooding
Flooding is causing travel chaos in Missouri, where Interstate 44 remains closed in one direction

ASHLEY COLLMAN
DAILYMAIL.COM
30 December 2015

Federal officials were monitoring 19 vulnerable levees on the rising Mississippi River and its tributaries, warning that hundreds of homes in Illinois and Missouri could be threatened by a rare winter flood that already forced the partial closure of interstate highways and widespread evacuations.

As the swollen rivers and streams pushed to virtually unheard-of heights Tuesday, an unknown number of inmates were transferred out of an Illinois state prison threatened by flooding and Missouri’s governor activated the National Guard to help divert traffic from submerged roads.

Record flooding was projected in some Mississippi River towns after several days of torrential rain that also caused sewage to flow unfiltered into waterways.

The Meramec River near St Louis was expected to get to more than three feet above the previous record by late this week.

At least 20 deaths over several days in Missouri and Illinois were blamed on flooding, mostly involving vehicles that drove onto swamped roadways.
Two of these deaths include a man and woman whose bodies were found in floodwaters Tuesday morning, about 6 miles east of Edinburg, Illinois.

Officials say it appears they were trying to cross a flooded area. Police used cellphone location services to find them, but their minivan is still missing.
The Christian County Coroner’s Office told the Springfield State Journal-Register that both died of drowning.

That number of dead may rise, since there are several missing people in the region – including a country singer.

Craig Strickland went missing after going duck hunting with his friend, Chase Morland, on Oklahoma’s Kaw Lake. Search teams found the pair’s capsized boat Sunday along with Strickland’s dog, which was alive. Morland’s body was recovered Monday.

Strickland is the lead singer of the Arkansas-based country-rock band Backroad Anthem. The band had been scheduled to perform Thursday in Little Rock, Arkansas, but that show has been canceled.

Crews searched Monday and Tuesday for Strickland but suspended the search at nightfall. The search picked back up Wednesday morning on Kaw Lake, which is 38 miles long and is near Oklahoma’s border with Kansas.

And in southwest Missouri, volunteers continue to search for a missing motorist who disappeared Saturday night while crossing a bridge over the Pomme de Terre River in Polk County. Guardrails kept the man’s vehicle from washing away.

The Rest…HERE

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