Midwest Flooding Eases as Mississippi Recedes

Forecasters said Friday that the worst of the flooding that has swamped the Midwest for more than two weeks appears to have passed as the Mississippi River began to recede after inundating towns near St. Louis.

“Things are looking up. They really are,” said Lou Chiodini, emergency manager for the Army Corps of Engineers in St. Louis.

“But what we have to do now is hope we don’t get any more rain,” he said. “We’ll still be watching the river 24 hours a day.”

The forecast called for a chance of isolated thunderstorms today.

The Coast Guard, which helped evacuate residents of West Alton, Mo., discontinued boat patrols in the city Friday but said it would use a helicopter for surveys and emergencies.

“Folks are able to actually walk out of town now,” Coast Guard Lt. Christopher Smith said Friday. “Some people have figured out that they can wade through shallow water at the north end of town (the Mississippi side) and go to a service station there.”

The Mississippi crested Thursday on a stretch beginning north of St. Louis and extending well south of the city, where it swelled to nine feet above the 30-foot flood stage.