CLARKSVILLE, Mo. (AP) — An all-too-familiar springtime ritual is playing out around the nation's heartland this weekend as volunteers, National Guardsmen and even prison inmates join together in an effort to ward off fast-rising floodwaters.
Dire flooding situations dotted at least six Midwestern states following torrential rains this past week that dumped up to 7 inches in some locations. Record flooding was possible in some places as dozens of rivers overflowed their banks.
The floods and flash floods have forced hundreds of evacuations, closed countless roads, swamped farmland, shut down barge traffic on much of the upper Mississippi River and closed two Mississippi River bridges.
Several Mississippi River towns north of St. Louis were expected to see crests on Sunday, including hard-hit Clarksville, Mo.
Copyright 2013 The Associated Press.