FLOOD: NEW CREST REVISED DOWNWARD

The flood crest predicted Wednesday at Cape Girardeau has been revised downward to 48.5 feet, according to the National Weather Service.

On Monday, the river was 46.8 feet on the Cape Girardeau gauge. Earlier, the crest had been predicted at 49 feet. A weather service spokesman said the revision was caused by levee breaks north of the city.

Mark Hasheider, Cape Girardeau emergency operations coordinator, said, "Any reduction from 49 feet is a great relief. But it's kind of ironic that we are relieved with a 48.5 crest. That is a lot of water."

Flood stage at Cape Girardeau is 32 feet.

"We're holding our own," Hasheider said. "We feel sorry for those folks up north. What we are seeing on television is very dramatic, but we don't expect any of those dramatic shots down here."

Hasheider said efforts are still under way to help protect areas of the city from rising water and to encourage some people to move to higher ground.

"We are still looking at the Red Star area. We know there are some homes that will be affected at this crest that were not affected by the previous crest," he said.

The same is true in the Meadow Brook area. "Water will start coming up around south Kingshighway," Hasheider said. "We are looking at that on a daily basis."

Hasheider said most people he talks with are anxious for the crest to pass so the work of cleaning up can begin.

"I think we are really ready to get into that recovery mode rather than reacting to a new crest level on a daily or weekly basis," he said.

Brian Miller, director of the Cape Girardeau County emergency operations, said despite the reduction in the crest prediction, operations will continue to prepare for the 49 foot crest.

"It's been up and down so many times," he said, "We want to be set for the worst case.

Miller said the sandbagging operation in Jackson proved successful.

"It never ceases to amaze me and it's very gratifying to see all the folks stepping up," Miller said.

At peak times during the past week as many as 500 to 600 volunteers have filled thousands of sandbags for use at Dutchtown and throughout the county.

"A sandbag factory is basically what it is," he said. "It took a lot of different folks and some extraordinary efforts from individuals, businesses, governments and the (National) Guard.

"When the crest is through and the water goes back down, we will all deal with the recovery issues," Miller said. "The flood has taken a month down here. It's going to take probably a year for everybody to get things straightened out afterwards."