The levees should hold and there should be no problems. On the other side of the river, Illinois emergency officials said they were optimistic their state would experience no flooding problems. One factor helping downriver states was that the Missouri, Illinois and Ohio rivers were not flooding as badly as in previous years, when they poured floodwaters into the already-swollen Mississippi. The past winter's snow pack in Missouri and southern Illinois also was not as great as previous years, leading to a smaller spring runoff, Stonner said. Dealing with the aftermath As the floodwaters start to recede to the north and crest to the south along the Iowa-Illinois border, the American Red Cross has begun to deal with the aftermath, both material and mental.
Family services go out to see what people have lost, helping to replace furniture, beds, etc.
Mental health officials have been deployed to river communities up and down the upper Mississippi. Some river towns have been battling the high water for three to four weeks. Pages will open in a new browser window External sites are not endorsed by CNN Interactive. An AOL Time Warner Company. All Rights Reserved.