Flood in Scott County, Missouri

Northern portions of the county received the most rain and the worst flooding. Main Street and numerous side streets were closed in Scott City. In Scott City, a mudslide forced the closure of Route AB. In Chaffee, 48 residents were evacuated from a nursing home. Much of Chaffee was under water, flooding a car wash and a church. Across the county, at least 38 homes and businesses sustained at least some damage. Sandbagging was done around a house threatened by floodwaters on Route EE. Water spilled over the top of a levee on Caney Creek, flooding farmland. One bridge was damaged beyond repair. Another bridge approach was washed out. At least a dozen mudslides were cleared from roads. Numerous culverts were washed out.

Mississippi River levels continued their climb from December, and record flooding occurred early in the month. At the Thebes, Illinois river gage, the river crested at a new record of 47.74 feet before dawn on the 2nd. The old record was 45.91 feet, which was set in May of 1995. Records at Thebes go back to at least 1844. The 2016 crest would have been higher if a major levee break had not occurred between Thebes and Cairo, Illinois. Flood stage at Thebes is 33 feet. Thousands of acres of unprotected land outside the levee system were flooded, most of which was cropland. The small community of Commerce, which is not protected by a levee, was severely flooded. Only about nine homes in the community remain occupied following a series of government buyouts. A private agricultural levee was breached just south of Commerce, resulting in the inundation of 5,500 acres of empty cropland. The private levee was located on the river side of a much bigger federal levee that functioned very well.

Major flooding occurred along the Mississippi River early in the month. At the Thebes, IL river gage, the river crested at 43.18 feet on the 6th. Flood stage is 33 feet. This flood crest was about two feet below the crest during the historic 2011 flood. There was extensive flooding of low-lying agricultural land and county roads. A couple dozen homes were threatened in Commerce, causing a partial evacuation of the town. A large portion of Route EE was closed. Three homes on Scott County Road 308 alongside the Mississippi River were underwater. Thousands of acres of cropland were flooded. The primary effect on residents near the river was difficult access due to flooded roads. Flood risk reduction measures that were installed after the massive flood of 2011 helped mitigate damage. Personnel from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers conducted daily inspections of levees for seepage and other problems.