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The Latest: 3 deaths blamed on flooding; kayaker missing
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Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds, right stops to talk with the media near the intersection of Pershing Ave. and E 2nd St. in downtown Davenport, Iowa during a tour of flooded areas of the community Friday, May 3, 2019. (Kevin E. Schmidt/Quad City Times via AP) lessIowa Gov. Kim Reynolds, right stops to talk with the media near the intersection of Pershing Ave. and E 2nd St. in downtown Davenport, Iowa during a tour of flooded areas of the community Friday, May 3, 2019. … more
Photo: Kevin E. Schmidt, AP
Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds, right stops to talk with the media near the intersection of Pershing Ave. and E 2nd St. in downtown Davenport, Iowa during a tour of flooded areas of the community Friday, May 3, 2019. (Kevin E. Schmidt/Quad City Times via AP) less
Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds, right stops to talk with the media near the intersection of Pershing Ave. and E 2nd St. in downtown Davenport, Iowa during a tour of flooded areas of the community Friday, May 3, 2019. … more
Photo: Kevin E. Schmidt, AP
ST. LOUIS (AP) — The Latest on flooding in the Midwest (all times local):
1:40 p.m.
The latest round of Midwestern flooding has claimed at least three lives, closed hundreds of roads and forced residents of threatened towns to shore up threatened levees with sandbags as waters rise to historic levels in some communities.
The National Weather Service issued flood warnings Friday along a large swath of the Mississippi River, as well as flash flood watches for parts of Missouri, Arkansas, Oklahoma and Texas after recent rounds of heavy rain.
In southwest Missouri, authorities are searching for a paddler whose kayak overturned in a flooded creek, one day after finding the body of his friend, 23-year-old Alex Ekern. They were among three men who began paddling Wednesday afternoon on Bull Creek near the small town of Walnut Shade when they were swept over a low-water bridge.
The Missouri State Highway Patrol says one of the kayakers was eventually swept downstream, climbed a steep bank and sought help.
Flooding also claimed the life of a camper who was found Wednesday after he was caught in waters from an overflowed creek near the town of Ava, also in southwest Missouri. And in northern Indiana, a 2-year-old was killed when his mother drove onto a flooded road.
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7 a.m.
Swollen Missouri waterways are inundating farmland, closing roads and straining levees.
The National Weather Service has issued flood warnings for Friday for parts of southern Missouri and stretches of the state along the Mississippi River.
The Mississippi is expected to crest Friday afternoon in Hannibal at the third-highest level on records. The Hannibal Courier-Post reports that the height of the city’s flood gates and levee will be raised as a precaution. Hannibal Board of Public Works general manager Heath Hall says that community is “preparing for the worst” but was hopeful that “reality is better.”
The surging Mississippi also was causing problems in West Alton, where the town’s 500 or so residents were under a voluntary evacuation.
Along the Osage River, high waters are inundating campsites at the Mari-Osa Campground.