Good news (crests), bad news (rain) along river

FOLEY, Mo. - Towns along the Mississippi River got good news and bad news Friday from the National Weather Service: Crest predictions were dramatically lowered for some areas, but the region was told it could expect storms through the weekend.

The crest revisions came after several levee breaks in Illinois, including one on Wednesday near Meyer that potentially could inundate 17,000 acres of farmland with water that otherwise would have been flowing south.

The new prediction shows St. Louis cresting at 37.3 feet on Friday, well short of the 49.58-foot record in 1993.

But National Weather Service meteorologist Jim Kramper said river towns aren't safe yet.

"There will still be a lot of places with major flooding," Kramper said. "Even at the levels we're expecting now, a lot of places are threatened."

The weather might not help, with forecasters predicting showers and scattered thunderstorms in Missouri and Iowa both Friday and Saturday before the precipitation moves out Sunday.

Second 100-year flood in 15 years
In Foley, Mo., Keith Aubuchon on Thursday found himself packing his belongings and evacuating his home to escape a "100-year" flood of the Mississippi River for the second time in 15 years.

He returned and remodeled his house after the flood of 1993. This time, he doesn't know if it will be worth coming back.

"This is my second flood. I don't think there will be a third," Aubuchon said as he drove a pickup truck loaded with a washing machine and other belongings out of his subdivision. Floodwaters rapidly filled the roads, yards and gullies behind him just hours after a levee breached north of Foley. Authorities estimate much of the small town will be flooded by the weekend.

Three Mississippi River levees broke Thursday in Lincoln County, sending a creeping wave of water toward Foley and causing more concern in nearby Winfield.

The river was overflowing 90 percent of the levees in eastern Lincoln County, and at least four more breaches were expected to aggravate the flooding overnight, said Lincoln County Emergency Management spokesman Andy Binder.

The Mississippi River will likely remain above flood stage for weeks. But compared to the region's last major flood in 1993, a lack of high water on the Illinois and Missouri rivers, two major channels feeding the Mississippi, was encouraging officials.

Still, the flooding and violent storms have been blamed for 24 deaths since late May across the Midwest, have generated untold damage in the billions of dollars, and are expected to aggravate rising food prices since they ravaged prime areas of the Midwest Cornbelt.

Insurance companies that sell crop coverage to farmers, including market leader Ace Ltd., were expected to face big claims of as much as $3 billion in Iowa alone, a Lehman Brothers analyst said.

Interactive map Rampaging rivers Click to see latest developments on Midwest flooding and historical flooding data.

Claims from homeowners may not be large because few have flood insurance, analysts said. Only 17 percent of Americans buy the coverage, the Insurance Information Institute said.

In Cedar Rapids, Iowa, nearly 4,000 homes in Cedar Rapids were damaged or ruined.

"Now we begin the process of assessing debris removal and short-term and long-term housing needs," said Bret Vorhees of Iowa Emergency Management.

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