Water Levels Reaching Record Heights In Central U.S.

After 10 to 15 inches of rain in the past seven days, much of southern Missouri and northern Arkansas is underwater. So much precipitation has fallen that major rivers have spread well beyond their banks. Muddy brown water is at the rooftops in the hardest-hit communities. On Wednesday, the Black River breached a levee near Pocahontas, Ark., prompting a flash-flood emergency for the town as thousands of gallons of water rushed through the gap. “Residents should evacuate immediately in east Pocahontas and points southeast in Randolph and Lawrence counties,” the Weather Service wrote in a bulletin.