The Mississippi River is not expected to fully recede any time soon. Even as the river crests, NWS officials warned, dangerous flooding is expected to linger for days or weeks, especially if rainstorms continue to add to the floodwaters. Especially if you look downstream, there will be no short resolution to the flood problems. As it stands right now, we're projecting flooding of some degree all the way past St. Louis. The U.S. Coast Guard closed more than 400 miles of the river to boat and barge traffic.
States of emergency are in effect along the river from Minnesota to southeast Iowa.
On Thursday, President Bush said that he had asked Federal Emergency Management Agency Director Joe Albaugh to assist local officials along the river with damage assessment. The Mississippi crested about 10 feet above flood stage in St. Paul, Minn., on Thursday, at 23.4 feet. Further north, in LaCrosse, Wisc., the river began to drop slightly after cresting on Wednesday at 16.4 feet. Just as officials there began to think the worst was over, however, rain predictions put flood-response teams back on alert. Emergency management officials are gearing up for serious problems in Davenport, Iowa, as the flooding intensifies there this weekend.