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Flood Waters Rising in Southern Illinois
(IRN)-The Ohio River keeps rising in Cairo.

The river level reached 60.58 feet Monday, a record high, beating the mark of 59.5 feet set in 1937. It's expected to crest Tuesday at 61.5 feet and stay there at least until Friday.

Cairo's floodwall can theoretically handle 64 feet, but the problem now is sand boils, which threaten to flood the town if they burst, says Alexander County emergency management coordinator Marty Nicholson. "We have got one sand boil that is humongous," she said. "The Corps of Engineers has been working on it and keeping it controlled and it is stabilized at this time."

A sand boil is a result of water pushed under the levees and welled up through the soil behind them.

The Army Corps of Engineers is still undecided on opening a floodway down river, which would drop the river level three to seven feet. Explosives are being placed in a levee on the Mississippi River so they can be detonated if the decision is made. Opening the Birds Point-New Madrid Floodway would flood 130,000 acres of Missouri farmland. It hasn't been done since 1937.

Cairo Mayor Judson Childs says nearly all residents have evacuated. He announced a voluntary evacuation last week, changed it to "mandatory" over the weekend, and after emergency personnel went door to door notifying people, only a few families remain.

(Source: Illinois Radio Network)
05 02 11 by Newsroom
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