93.9 The Eagle – The News and Talk of Columbia, MO
A handful of roads in Boone County and elsewhere were still closed because of flooding. You can see the county’s road closure list here, and the MoDot map here.
Boone County Fire’s Gale Blomenkamp says driving into floodwaters and getting stuck could not only kill you.
“A bystander that may be watching that and feel the need to go out and help you if you do get stuck. Now that bystander is at risk. And then the rescuers are at risk for an unneeded cause.”
The Missouri River was forecast to crest at moderate flood stage in spots like Jefferson City and Glasgow on Friday.
More from The Associated Press:
The Mississippi River at the Quad Cities in Iowa and Illinois has reached a new record high.
The National Weather Service website on Thursday afternoon showed the river level at 22.64 feet (6.9 meters), just above the 22.63-foot mark reached on July 9, 1993.
Parts of downtown Davenport, Iowa, remain underwater after the river tore through a temporary barrier.
Several Mississippi River towns also are seeing floods that are closing in on levels reached in 1993, the benchmark flood for many areas of the Midwest.
Two Mississippi River bridges – one at Quincy, Illinois, and another at Louisiana, Missouri – have been forced to close.
In West Alton, Missouri, 20 miles (30 kilometers) north of St. Louis, the 500 or so residents were under a voluntary evacuation as the river was expected to crest a half-foot higher than the levee can hold. Officials say the levee is so long that sandbagging isn’t an option.
