Flood in Cape Girardeau County, Missouri

Major flooding occurred along the Mississippi River in the Cape Girardeau area. The river crested at Cape Girardeau very near 42 feet, which is the threshold for major flooding. Many homes in the Cape Girardeau area were affected, and evacuations were required. Over 100,000 acres were flooded. Numerous roads were closed. Most of the affected houses were in rural areas of Cape Girardeau County along tributary creeks that were swollen by Mississippi River backwater. The city of Cape Girardeau is protected by floodwalls and levees. The community of Dutchtown, located along a diversion channel, was threatened by backwater flooding. Volunteers at a staging area filled about 7,000 sandbags to construct a temporary levee on Highway 74 to protect Dutchtown. Dutchtown was flooded severely in the historic flood of 2011. The Mississippi River flooding continued into early May.

Although the Mississippi River remained above flood stage all month, the flooding was very minor by the end of July. This extended flood began in mid March and peaked in June at the fifth highest crest on record at Cape Girardeau. While the crest was among the five highest on record, the extended duration of the flood played an even greater role on the impact. The saturation and resultant weakening of levees permitted water to seep into normally dry areas. Around 21,000 acres were flooded in the county, including over 10,000 acres of cropland. This resulted in millions of dollars in crop losses. Flooding of the diversion channel floodplain in the southern end of the county affected places as far west as Dutchtown. The water receded from the vast majority of the county by the end of July, however a riverfront park and trail in Cape Girardeau remained under water through the month.

Flooding occurred along the Mississippi River during the latter half of the month. The river crested at 37.83 feet on the 22nd, which is several feet above the 32-foot flood stage. This required the closure of a couple flood gates in the Cape Girardeau flood wall. Floodwaters backed up a few tributary creeks and small rivers, causing considerable flooding of fields well away from the mainstem river. The river remained above flood stage going into April.