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Historic Flooding Along the Mississippi River

Massive flooding in the Midwest hits historic levels. Several areas of the country had a not-so-joyous new year, following a three-day period of rain over the holidays that brought the highest flood levels ever recorded to the Mississippi River, south of St. Louis.

More than a dozen states were under flood warnings earlier this week, including Ohio.

The Mississippi River, which runs from Minnesota all the way to the Gulf of Mexico, crested to historic levels in some areas, breeching the levees built there and forcing evacuations.

A levee, if you're unfamiliar, is just an earthen bank, built along a river to prevent flooding.
Jeremy Roth has more.


VERY LITTLE CELEBRATING THE DAY AFTER NEW YEARS IN PARTS OF MISSOURI SATURDAY.
INSTEAD, RESIDENTS ARE CLEARING UP THE DEBRIS LEFT BEHIND BY A MASSIVE AND DEADLY FLOOD THAT IS STILL POSING A THREAT.
THE GOVERNOR TOURING SOME OF HARDEST HIT REGIONS AS SEVERAL INTERSTATES ARE NOW BACK OPEN IN THE ST. LOUIS AREA.
WATER LEVELS HAVE FALLEN SEVERAL FEET...BUT MANY HOMES ARE STILL FAR FROM DRYING OUT.
NAT POP
AND WHILE MISSOURI IS IN THE RECOVERY PROCESS, STATES LIKE ILLINOIS ARE NERVOUSLY ANTICIPATING MORE FLOODING AND MORE DAMAGES.
IN ALEXANDER COUNTY WHERE THE MISSISSIPPI AND OHIO RIVERS MEET, THE WATER IS EXPECTED TO CREST.. MORE THAN 3 FEET ABOVE MAJOR FLOODING STAGE.
  (MOS -Resident) "You live in the water you can expect anything, but I never once expected it to be this bad."
ACCORDING TO OFFICIALS, WATER HAS ALREADY GONE OVER THE TOP OF ONE LEVEE -- AND A SECOND LEVEE HAS "GOOD POTENTIAL" OF OVER-TOPPING.
THE FLOODING HAS FORCED EVACUATIONS IN THE SOUTHERN PART OF THE STATE..
GOVERNOR RAUNER ACTIVATED MEMBERS OF THE ILLINOIS NATIONAL GUARD TO ASSIST LOCAL AUTHORITIES AS A PRECAUTIONARY MEASURE.
  (Gov. Bruce Rauner / (R) Illinois) "Some communities hit harder than the '93 floods but most fortunately is not as bad but this is one of the worst."
I'M JEREMY ROTH REPORTING.


President Obama signed a Federal Emergency Disaster Declaration for the state of Missouri, which allows the Department of Homeland Security and the Federal Emergency Management Agency, or FEMA, to coordinate all disaster relief efforts.

Federal money will also be used to help pay for recovery costs and debris removal. Sadly, more than a dozen flood-related deaths have been reported.

Instructional Links

Encyclopedia Article: World Book Kids, Flood

http://www.worldbookonline.com/kids/Home;jsessionid=B1EC6D3D2447FE71768E39463C5AE04C#article/ar830482

May Need Password

Encyclopedia Article: World Book Student, Levee

http://www.worldbookonline.com/student/article?id=ar320840

Interactive Map: National Weather Service, Flood Information Map

http://www.floodsafety.noaa.gov/map.shtml

Website Article: American Red Cross, Flood Safety

http://www.redcross.org/prepare/disaster/flood