Residents on the south side of Poplar Bluff voluntarily evacuated, roads were closed and school was canceled as Black River spilled its banks following days of heavy rain.
Black River crested at 21.96 feet at 11:30 a.m. Monday according to U.S. Geological Survey. Water levels continued to drop overnight and were expected to fall below 19 feet - moderate flood stage - Tuesday afternoon. The gauge record is 22 feet 1 inch and flood stage is 16 feet.
Levels are expected to remain high for several days as water releases continue at flood-control reservoir Clearwater Lake.
While Poplar Bluff did not see the devastation evident in other Southeast Missouri communities, the rising water created a number of problems and substantial property damage.
"It is devastating, we have been through it before, and the city stepped up like they always do," Mayor Ed DeGaris said Tuesday morning. "The citizens, like they always do reached in their hearts to help those less fortunate than them and we will pull together and get through it."
Poplar Bluff Police and Fire departments spent much of Sunday and Monday going door-to-door alerting residents in the areas along Fifth Street and south of downtown after a levee break between Saxon and County Road 605 caused water to pour into those neighborhoods.
"We ended up having two shifts down there and between the police department and us we went house-to house pretty much on the entire south end trying to get people to vacate," said fire chief Ralph Stucker.
Public safety officals said the "majority" of residents notified of the impending flooding agreed to leave. A Red Cross shelter at the Black River Coliseum was available (see accompanying article), but some chose to stay with family, or, like south-side resident Frank Huggins, in nearby hotels. Huggins said he was notified by a knock on the door about 7:30 a.m. Monday that flood water was approaching his home on Hampton Court.
"The guy from emergency management came by and knocked on every door. He told us that right now it was voluntary. I started getting my stuff together - I live on the back corner of Hampton Court there - and by the time we left, it (the water) was in yards north of me and coming down toward my house," Huggins said.
"I am hoping that everything will be OK because my house sits up high, but the street is lower than my house," he said.
While evacuations went smoothly, Poplar Bluff Police said there were problems with spectators climbing on the levees and adding traffic to the affected areas.
"It (spectating in affected areas) is a bad idea because sometimes we need to get places and do work and we can't because of all the traffic. It is also tying up several of the officers. We are having to put them at intersection to keep sightseers from coming in," deputy chief Donnie Trout said.
Union Pacific Railroad yards at Poplar Bluff also saw some flooding and officials early Monday moved all hazardous materials from the yard. Both sides of Business Highway 60 north and east of downtown - especially along Palmer Slough - also saw substantial flooding.
Despite flood issues, utilities remained in service and saw few issues. A short-lived power outage happened early Sunday as storms moved through the area. Some sewage infrastructure in the areas that saw the brunt of flooding were affected, but most residents were already evacuated.
"We have some lift stations for the sewage where the homes have been evacuated shut off. Same thing out around Riggs (Wholesale Supply Co. near Business 60) there are two out there we shut down. Same thing, everyone had been evacuated out so we went ahead and shut them down so we're not pumping river water," Municipal Utilities General Manager Bill Bach said.
Bach expressed some concern as Black River water levels approached the city's fresh water intake located near Light Plant Drive. Had the water level climbed another foot following the Monday crest, the pumps would have been comprised causing city-wide water outages.
Poplar Bluff R-I schools were closed Monday and Tuesday due to heavy flooding. District officials said they will continue to monitor the situation, but student, faculty and community safety was the priority.
"Obviously with the rivers this high, the safety of kids are the foremost concern. The other part of this is the work being done by our emergency management service people. I don't want to put our kids in a position where we are going to pull away from their people when they need to be working elsewhere," said district superintendent Scott Dill.
The Daily American Republic will continue coverage of the record-breaking flood of 2017 as more information becomes available. Another 1-3 inches of rain is forecast for Wednesday through Thursday. Emergency management officials are expected to meet at 10 a.m. today.