Clarksville, locked in a marathon battle with the Mississippi, catches a break — for now
But the sandbag barriers, plastic wrap, and flood-fighting volunteers seen around town Friday speak to
But officials said Friday that, for now, a worst-case or record-setting flood scenario has been avoided -- or at least delayed.
"It dropped the forecast down a half a foot, at least temporarily," said Lindemann.
But danger remains, as evidenced by the dogged flood fight undertaken by more than 100 people Friday -- including members of the
"We could have a few more yet," said Lindemann, saying that the town needs to "stay vigilant" and continually inspect existing flood protection and fuel water pumps. But "even a gas run is made difficult because of every road being closed out of town," she adds.
Mounting costs
The flood has already borne significant costs. Just ask the volunteers running the "flood kitchen" based out of the basement of the
"This is the fourth time in the last six years that we've had a flood kitchen in here," said
A woman walks a coconut creme pie to the
Even for area residents whose homes are not directly affected by flooding, various aspects of daily life have been altered. The town's bank, post office, and plenty of local roads have been closed amid high water, often requiring that residents trek to
In fact, such an estimate is a "pin-the-tail-on-the-donkey type of thing," said
Plus, he and other local officials say that continued flooding has prevented them from making the damage assessments needed for aid or, eventually, flood insurance.
"I'm really looking forward to the paperwork for the National Flood Insurance Program after this," Lindemann said.
But even without specific numbers coming into focus, it's obvious that
But repeated major floods in recent years also take a psychological toll, and exact costs on the town's vitality.
Current residents say the town used to support a relatively strong community of downtown shops and artists, prior to the 2008 flood. But prolonged floods and closures have pushed them away.
She says it gets harder and harder to summon the strength for flood fights and recovery -- especially for a town with an aging population.
Lindemann echoed much of the same sentiment.
A Missouri National Guardsman from the
"It wears on the town," she said, explaining that the enthusiasm to rebuild after 1993, for instance, has tapered off. "I think those ideas have been worn down a little bit over time, because it just keeps happening and some of us are ready to give up the fight. But many of us are not."
For the historic city to continue that fight, many say changes are needed.
Ever since the flooding in 2008, there have been hopes to secure funding for a temporary flood wall that would be used in emergency flood conditions, and held in storage when it's not needed. But funding has stalled, as an initial price estimate of
But taking the last decade's flood damage costs into account, she says a wall "easily" would have paid for itself by now. "Probably twice," she adds.
Meanwhile, others like Gamm say that flood problems cannot be meaningfully improved unless a "unified attitude" is applied to levee systems in the region. Along with extreme precipitation made more likely by climate change, the widespread reliance on levee systems is attracting criticism for constricting rivers and pushing flood risk elsewhere.
"There's some things that can be done to alleviate some of this, and part of it is cooperation from the other side of the river," said Gamm, suggesting that
But like others around town, he expressed confidence that
Busch agrees, even if each repeated recovery gets harder.
"You learn that you just keep your head down and take one more step," she said.
________________________
Forecasts revised
The
Upriver,
On Sunday,
Inmates from the Women's Eastern Reception Diagnostic and Correctional Center in
Amtrak suspends some service
Meanwhile, Amtrak says flooding in the region is forcing it to suspend service between
Amtrak officials said in a news release Friday that flooding has diverted freight train traffic onto tracks used by the passenger train service.
Service between
No substitute transportation is available other than the scheduled Trinity Railway Express commuter train service between
Some tickets are available for those willing to travel alternate routes between
Two
Officials have issued a mandatory evacuation order for some residents of a central
KRCG reports
Also, levees in rural areas of a northeast
Keith said no homes or businesses were impacted and he was not aware of any fatalities or injuries from the flooding.
Levee breached along
Elsewhere, a levee breached Friday along the
Officials said the levee breached at
The
The levee breached because of ongoing flooding along the
Floodwater recedes in
In northeastern
Earlier this year, about two dozen levee systems were breached or overtopped during
The Associated Press contributed.
Flooding forecast: A look at how high area rivers will get
Special Features
Flooding forecast: A look at how high area rivers will get
* By
St. Louis Post-Dispatch
SSgt.
Inmates from the Women's Eastern Reception Diagnostic and Correctional Center in
Inmates from the Women's Eastern Reception Diagnostic and Correctional Center in
The post office in downtown
The post office in downtown
A Missouri National Guardsman from the
Desserts fill the serving table at lunchtime inside the
A woman walks a coconut creme pie to the
Missouri
Inmates from the Women's Eastern Reception Diagnostic and Correctional Center in
Spc.
A
___
(c)2019 the St. Louis Post-Dispatch
Visit the St. Louis Post-Dispatch at www.stltoday.com
Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
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