Flood, Sweat and Tears

Driven by incessant, violent rains, a monster deluge tears a watery swath from Minnesota to Missouri

THE WORST IS SUPPOSED TO BE OVER THIS WEEKEND. THE FLOOD CREST ON THE MISsissippi, 46 ft. above normal (and 3 ft. above the highest ever recorded before), was scheduled to pass St. Louis, Missouri, on Monday. It should roll by Cairo, Illinois, about 180 miles to the south, by Friday. There, the Ohio joins the Mississippi, which moves into a broader, deeper channel that should be able to carry all the water pouring in from upstream without overflowing the levees, dikes and dams south of Cairo. The people, businesses and farms lining the Father of Waters for the roughly 600...

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