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.)