Levee Breaks Near Eastern Mo. Town

Sandbags best hope to save homes
By Newser Editors and Wire Services
Posted Jun 27, 2008 12:46 PM CDT
Levee Breaks Near Eastern Mo. Town
In this June 17, 2008 file photo, members of the Missouri National Guard work on securing the levee along the Mississippi River in Clarksville, Mo.   (AP Photo/Seth Perlman)

A levee failed today in eastern Missouri, but emergency workers say they think an impromptu sandbag levee can save the nearby town. The breach about 5 am in the Pin Oak levee at a spot just south of Winfield slowly began to flood about 3,000 acres. The Army Corps of Engineers said muskrat holes caused the breach.

The good news: the break happened far enough away from the residential area that the water wasn't expected to get there for several hours. National Guard Col. Michele Melton said plans call for a 4-foot-tall sandbag levee to be hurriedly built around the residential area, which contains roughly 100 homes. (More Missouri stories.)

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