| |
 |
Mississippi flood hits midwest
|
THE flooding Mississippi River, resembling a lake in spots, began a slow retreat after swamping towns in Minnesota on Wednesday while downstream communities scrambled to hold back the river's crest.
Levees protected the twin cities of Minneapolis and St Paul, but smaller communities bore the brunt of Upper Midwest river flooding that was some of the worst in 36 years.
The Mississippi inundated a dozen homes as well as Slippery's Tavern & Restaurant in Wabasha, Minnesota, a town of 2,500 people 90 miles downstream from Minneapolis.
Elsewhere along the river, students and prison inmates pitched in to help exhausted workers stack sandbags against straining dikes and around vulnerable buildings.
The flood's cost will not be known until the rivers retreat to their banks, which may take weeks, officials said.
Minnesota legislators have already suggested proposals for tens of millions of dollars in flood relief and funding for flood control projects, and governors in affected states have begun lobbying for federal disaster aid. (SD-Agencies)
|
|
|
|
