Rising Mississippi Threatens Floods

April 17 -- Melting snows and heavy rain have made the Mississippi River rise to dangerous levels in four Midwestern states, threatening many communities with flooding.

Along a 400-mile stretch of the river — in Iowa, Wisconsin, Minnesota and Illinois — the water is approaching levels not seen in years. In some sections, residents are seeing the highest water levels since 1965.

The Mississippi has been rising at a rate of a foot a day in some places, and the National Weather Service and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration do not expect the river to return to its banks any time soon.

"Right now the rivers are so high, any additional rain is going to, if nothing else, prolong the agony," said NOAA's Frank Richards.

Building Walls of Sandbags

On the banks of the Mississippi and other rivers nearby, levees have been built. Volunteers are pitching in to build walls of sandbags.

In St. Paul, Minn., National Guard troops have piled sandbags around buildings at the downtown airport, leaving the runways to become a lake.

Officials caution residents against visiting the banks to view the swollen river. "We need to have people stay away from floodwaters," said Richards. "Don't go down to the river and take a look at it, the levees may be unstable. Play it safe, stay away from the water."

Hundreds of families have been evacuated from their homes in Iowa, Wisconsin and Minnesota. Nine counties in Wisconsin and 10 counties in Iowa are under a state of emergency.

The Midwest suffered floods in 1993 and 1997, recently enough that most people know what to do. Some families who were flooded in previous years rebuilt on higher ground with the help of government aid.

Bush Declares Disaster Areas

President Bush declared several flood-ravaged counties in the state of Mississippi disaster areas.

The president's action makes the counties — Attala, Holmes, Lee, Leake and Neshoba — eligible for federal assistance, including temporary housing , grants and low-rate loans to recoup losses of uninsured property.