Henderson County levee breaks as flooding continues

More than a dozen people sandbagging a levee before it broke near the western Illinois village of Gulfport had to be rescued by helicopter Tuesday when the rising Mississippi River burst its banks, officials said.

The break also forced the closure of the Great River Bridge that connects Gulfport to Burlington, Iowa via U.S. Highway 34. The rising waters also threatened to deluge farmland.

Illinois conservation officers and a Medivac helicopter from Iowa were able to rescue those stranded at the levee, as well as motorists stuck on nearby U.S. 34 and at a house in nearby Carman, Gov. Rod Blagojevich's office said.

The rising waters cut a wide swath of destruction.

"Now we're looking at thousands of acres that are going to be underwater, the small village of Gulfport is going to be underwater," Henderson County Deputy Sheriff Donald Seitz told CNN.

Seitz said U.S. 34 could be under 10 feet of water within 15 to 20 hours and that the crest wasn't predicted to hit the area until Tuesday evening.

Authorities had to rescue several people, including a motorist stranded on top of his car.

Western Illinois officials continued prompting residents to get out of areas around the Mississippi River after the Henderson County levee broke about 5 a.m. People were being urged to evacuate areas around Gulfport and Carman, near the Iowa-Illnois line, said Illinois Emergency Management Agency spokesman Chris McCloud.

McCloud said there have been more than a half-dozen levee breaches in Illinois in the past week or so, including in the Mercer County community of Keithsburg, where water continued to rise.

Low-lying river communities such as Pontoosuc in Hancock County, south of Henderson County, also were taking on water, said Hancock County spokeswoman Kathleen Dougherty.

"They were taking on water before anyone else was," Dougherty said.

Dougherty said some homes in the small community of Dallas City on the Mississippi River were flooded, the Fort Madison Bridge over the river was closed and other communities south along the river are sandbagging to try to keep the water out.

Last week, Blagojevich declared seven western Illinois counties disaster areas to speed up help from the state as they braced for advancing water. The seven counties were Adams, Calhoun, Hancock, Henderson, Mercer, Pike and Rock Island.

Blagojevich also has declared 10 other counties around the state disaster areas because of flooding and storms.

The governor also activated an additional 400 Illinois National Guard troops Tuesday, bringing the total to 1,100 troops at the ready to help threatened communities.

"The military, National Guard's here, which is a real big help for us," Henderson County's Seitz said. "We're a real small county, our resources are very limited."