Minor flooding on the Mississippi; rain a worry

ST. LOUIS - The Mississippi River is creeping up again, flooding some low-lying roads and agricultural land in parts of Iowa, Illinois and Missouri.

Flood watchers say it's all typical spring flooding, but with rain in the forecast, they're not taking anything for granted.

"We have chances of rain pretty much throughout the next week," National Weather Service hydrologist Mark Fuchs said Monday. "None of them look heavy, but that could change if you get the right kind of nuance in the atmosphere.

"We're going to be cautiously aware of what's going on in the next seven days," Fuchs said.

The National Weather Service reported that the river is generally a foot or two above technical flood stage from southern Iowa south to near St. Louis. The river is well within its banks from St. Louis and south.

Very little damage occurs with flooding at this level, but some roads in areas unprotected by levees are closed. A few buildings were threatened in the small Iowa towns of Montrose and Niota.

In Missouri, a small park near Clarksville was starting to flood. Clarksville itself - one of the few towns without a levee or floodwall, was not threatened. A state road near Elsberry was wet and several acres of farmland were under water.

Since the 1993 flood, governments have extended levees, built floodwalls and bought out property in the flood plain. As a result, the impact of flooding has been lessened.