Flooding Threatens Levees in and Near Poplar Bluff
Emergency managers in southeast Missouri are monitoring a levee at Poplar Bluff after torrential rains caused significant flooding along the Black River.
Butler County emergency management director Robbie Myers says a levee breached Tuesday in a rural area near Poplar Bluff, swamping hundreds of acres of farmland but causing only limited damage to structures.
More concerning was the fact that water was overtopping a levee in and near Poplar Bluff, a town of about 17,000 residents not far from the Arkansas border. Myers says that if the levee breaches, 100 people will have to be evacuated.
Butler County received 7 inches of rain over the weekend and Monday, with some reports of up to 11 inches. Thunderstorms are in the forecast again for Friday and Saturday.