Leaky Levees Have Flooded Ark. On Edge

(CBS/AP)  Forecasters warned communities in the Arkansas prairie along the White River that they could suffer their worst flooding in more than a quarter-century under clear skies and sunshine.

"You may be wondering why we issued a flash flood watch in eastern Arkansas when there is little to no rain in the forecast," John Robinson of the National Weather Service in North Little Rock wrote Sunday in an e-mail to reporters.

"There will be water going into areas where people have not seen it before, and may not be expecting to see high water," Robinson wrote.

Upstream, the Black River sliced through a 60-year-old levee before emergency workers and volunteers could stem the tide with a mountain of sandbags Saturday. The Black enters the White River near Newport in northeast Arkansas.

Forecasters issued a flash flood warning through Monday morning for communities along the White River.

The Arkansas Department of Emergency Management said water broke through two spots of the Black River levee. Spokeswoman Renee Preslar said the break was fueled by water pouring in from soaked southeastern Missouri, flooding outlying areas to the south of Pocahontas.

Arkansas emergency management officials have said early estimates for statewide damage to homes, businesses and infrastructure was at $2 million, though that figure was expected to grow. Forecasts show it likely will be the middle of this week before rivers statewide see significant drops.

Arkansas Gov. Mike Beebe has declared 35 counties disaster areas.

Last week's torrential rainstorms also caused flooding in parts of Ohio and southern Illinois and in wide areas of Missouri.

The waters have receded Missouri and in Illinois but as those waters in the Midwest recede, they have to go somewhere, reports CBS News correspondent Hari Sreenivasan.

It is now pouring downstream, and forecasters say the danger looks highest in eastern Arkansas.

At least 17 deaths have been linked to flooding, wet roads and other weather effects over the past week, and one person is missing in Arkansas. Thousands of Missouri residents have had fled to Red Cross shelters or to the homes of friends or relatives.

There are pumps pulling water out of basements and crawl spaces in more than a dozen states as families get a first look at what happened to their flooded homes, reports Sreenivasan.

The Mississippi River at Cape Girardeau was 40.9 feet Sunday, 9 feet above flood stage, and was expected to crest at 41.5 feet Monday morning.

Towns south of where the Mississippi and Ohio rivers meet in Cairo, Ill., braced for flooding expected in the next couple of days.

"They're not going down yet," said John Campbell, operations chief at Missouri's State Emergency Management Agency. "They're still rising."

The Mississippi at Cairo, Ill., was expected to crest at 54 feet Tuesday morning, 14 feet above flood stage.

Moderate flooding was forecast for New Madrid, where the river was expected to crest at 42 feet Wednesday evening. The river will crest at 41 feet in Caruthersville Friday morning, the National Weather Service said.

[terribayless-2009]

It says they could suffer their worst flooding in more than a quarter-century. It''s not like this has never happened before. Mother Nature is not doing anything she hasn''t done before! Record temperatures were set in the early 1900''s. I wonder if they worried about what if temperatures keep rising? I am sure they did.

[besttyper]

F*ck Huck!!! Where''s MOSES???

[hwy71so]

I''ve got an idea.

DON''T BUILD IN A FLOOD PLAIN!

[al2008-2009]

I%u2019m appalled at the governor%u2019s lack of response to the global warming thunderstorms, floods, and tornadoes. We have no comprehensive strategy in place whatsoever, let alone a detailed plan of action to mitigate the effects of these floods, and mother earth continues to suffer while the governor%u2019s office refuses to go forward and do what%u2019s right for mother earth.
.
How long must we sit idly by while our mother continues to suffer from the warming taking place at a feverish pace? How long must our mother suffer before we have proper c02 taxes put into place? How long must the destruction of mother earth take place before we finally put responsible plans into action? At least Obama wants to cut c02 pollution by 80%; perhaps he%u2019s our only hope.
.
We the people call upon the governor to implement a comprehensive antiglobal warming strategy at once and work in coordination with state and federal officials; these tornadoes, floods, and storms continue to worsen and the quicker we stop the warming the sooner we will see these storms cease. We need action now.

[antoniof123]

Well, this is what happens when you have to cut because you don''t have the money.

Tax reform it means the rich get what they want and the poor get trickeled on.

Having fun yet.