Perry County residents hope river levee holds

PERRYVILLE, Mo. -- Perry County officials and residents worry the surging Mississippi River could top an aging, 26-mile-long earthen levee, flooding the low-lying McBride, Missouri, area later this week.

Nathan Ernst, who operates a service station and machine shop in McBride, wasn't taking chances. Aided by friends, family and co-workers, Ernst spent Tuesday hauling equipment out of the shop. If the levee breaks, his shop and other structures in the tiny town will be swamped with floodwater, he said.

Ernst knows what he's talking about. In 1993, river flooding tore through the levee and turned the town along Highway 51 into a lake. Ernst had 14 feet of water in his shop. The flood lines remain visible high up on the walls of his business.

"If it breaks on the upper end, we have about two hours before the shop gets wet," he observed.

If it breaks on the lower end of the 26-mile levee, water will back up into McBride, but at a slower rate.

Michael Gremaud works on loading up his belongings to evacuate his home in the Bois Brule bottoms Tuesday near McBride, Missouri. (Laura Simon)

Newlyweds Kevin and Amy Klucas spent the day packing belongings with the help of friends and family as they prepared to move out of their rented home in McBride. Amy Klucas said their landlord had advised them to leave.

"This is the worst holiday of my life," Amy Klucas said, scooping up items in the kitchen as her three young children watched.

She said she and Kevin were married just a month ago.

"We'll have to go stay with grandma," she said.

Amy Klucas said she and her family don't intend to return to McBride, which has only a few residents.

"It is very scary," she said of the prospect of flooding. One day life seems normal, and "the next day, you are told that the house is going to float away," she said.

A few miles away, rising water prompted the closing of the Chester, Illinois, bridge Tuesday, forcing motorists traveling between that town and Perryville to make a long commute using the Bill Emerson Memorial Bridge at Cape Girardeau.

The National Weather Service forecast the river would crest at 49.7 feet in Chester on Friday, matching the previous record set in 1993. At that stage, the crest would be barely lower than the top of the 50-foot levee on the Missouri side. The local levee district has been working with the Army Corps of Engineers to add rock to low sections of the Bois Brule levee to help hold back the high water.

Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon met with Perry County and emergency preparedness officials Tuesday morning at Sabreliner Corp. in the McBride area.

Nixon, who declared a state of emergency Sunday and activated the National Guard to help in the flood fight Tuesday, said every effort would be made to protect property and lives.

Nixon also vowed state and local law enforcement would seek to keep sightseers off the levees.

"This is not a tourist site," he said.

The rising river is expected to crest at or near record levels at several locations, Nixon said. The Mississippi River at Thebes, Illinois, is expected to crest at 47.5 feet Saturday, nearly two feet above the previous record, according to the governor's office.

Nixon said he doesn't expect the Corps of Engineers to blow the Birds Point levee near Charleston, Missouri, as it did in 2011.

Corps officials have not responded to repeated inquiries from the Southeast Missourian regarding the issue. But Nixon said the river would have to reach 61 feet on the flood stage at Cairo, Illinois, before the Corps would consider opening the floodway to alleviate pressure on the river's levee system. The river at Cairo is expected to crest at 59 feet Jan. 5, 19 feet above flood stage, the National Weather Service predicted.

Even with help from Missouri, the flood battle ultimately is fought at the local level, Nixon said.

"You only win the flood fight if the locals are on the front line," he noted. Perry County Commissioner James Sutterer said after the meeting, a number of state routes in the area were closed or soon would be closed because of high water. Recent heavy rains already have flooded farmers' fields.

The sheriff's office has recommended people in low-lying areas of Perry County evacuate as soon as possible.

Sheriff Gary Schaaf said the good news is any flooding should be short-lived as opposed to the damaging flood 22 years ago.

"In 1993, it came early and stayed late," he said.

mbliss@semissourian.com

(573) 388-3641

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Mississippi River predicted crests

Cape Girardeau: 48.5 feet, 16.5 feet above flood stage, Jan. 2

Thebes, Illinois: 47.5 feet, 15.5 feet above flood stage, Jan. 2

Cairo, Illinois: 59 feet, 19 feet above flood stage, Jan. 5

New Madrid, Missouri: 47 feet, 13 feet above flood stage, Jan. 5

Caruthersville, Missouri: 46 feet, 14 feet above flood stage, Jan. 6