Heavy rains in the Midwest are causing levees to breach along the Mississippi and Arkansas rivers, which may eventually put thousands of homes in danger.
The Dardanelle Levee along the Arkansas River breached early Friday, sending water flooding into farmland that has already been saturated by leaks in the levee. The river at the Dardanelle Levee was nearly 2 feet above its record crest before the breach.
More than 500 homes have been directly impacted by flooding in Arkansas already, state emergency management officials report. The Arkansas River was at or near record levels in several locations Friday morning.
Record crests for the Arkansas River have already been set in Ponca City, Oklahoma and in the cities of Van Buren, Dardanelle and Morrilton in Arkansas. More record crests are predicted downstream. If more levees along the river breach, many more homes will be flooded.
States along the Mississippi River are experiencing their own threats from the rising water levels. 80 flood gauges in 10 different states, from North Dakota to Louisiana– indicating major flooding of the Mississippi River, the highest category.
A levee failure on the Mississippi River has caused a mandatory evacuation of residents in West Quincy, Missouri.
More than 300 roads are under water in Missouri with more flooding to come, according to the states Department of Transportation
The Mississippi River in St. Louis is expected to crest Tuesday at around 46 feet. It is the second Top 7 crest of all time just this year, the previous being 41.7 feet on May 6.
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