Floodwater flows over levee in Southern Illinois; evacuation, sandbagging underway

Editor's note: This story has been edited to correct the spelling of a name.

ALEXANDER COUNTY, Ill. -- The Len Small levee in Alexander County was overrun by Mississippi flood waters Friday afternoon, meeting the predictions from Alexander County officials that ordered evacuations.

People began evacuating from Olive Branch, Unity, Hodges Park, Sandusky, East Cape Girardeau and McClure on Thursday. The evacuations in East Cape Girardeau and McClure were voluntary, while the other Illinois towns were emergency evacuations, although that did not necessarily mean there were not some people who stayed.

The Alexander County sheriff said his officers knocked on every door in the area Thursday night and Friday morning, making sure to get the names and phone numbers of anyone who stayed.

Illinois State Police Lt. Shane Alvey said most people had evacuated, and the number of people in the path of the flood would be limited.

Union County sheriff's deputies asked people to evacuate any low-lying areas in the county Thursday.

"I think the levee can hold," Union County Sheriff's Cpl. Brian Hill said. "I don't think we're in any immediate danger."

There were some people who were planning to stay. A square of sandbags about 2 feet high lined the property of Clarence Bigham on Highway 3 near Horseshoe Lake in Olive Branch. He had a team of people working Friday, two with front loaders, putting up as much sand around his property as possible. In 2011, Highway 3 and Bigham's house flooded.

"I've done it a few times," Bigham said of fighting floods. "I've been here since 1964. It never got in my house before 2011. I'm not moving back (if it floods again). Enough is enough."

Northwest of Bigham on Highway 3, Amber Fore and her family were packing her property tightly with sandbags. In 2011, Fore's house was the last to flood and only by a foot, although the problem was compounded because of sewage. This time around, Fore said the family could not leave on such short notice.

She added if she was offered a buyout, she would take it, and if the house floods, she also will be moving.

There was some optimism among residents in Olive Branch because the National Weather Service was predicting the Mississippi River was going to crest at 44 feet Sunday in New Madrid. The National Weather Service still is predicting a record river level of 50 feet in Cape Girardeau.

bkleine@semissourian.com

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Pertinent address:

Terry Honey, left, Blake Dale, center, and Lee Van Alstine help move furniture into a moving trailer while helping friends evacuate their home in McClure, Illinois, on Thursday. (Laura Simon)

26747 Rt. 3, Olive Branch, Illinois.