06/28/2008

Associated Press

Residents in some Illinois communities along the Mississippi River are still waiting for waters to crest as they continue to manage severe flooding.

Weather officials expected waters in Grafton to crest at 30.6 feet Saturday. Waters in Alton were expected to reach a peak Sunday at 33 feet and East St. Louis was expected to crest at 38.6 feet Monday.

Meanwhile, a makeshift sandbag levee near Winfield, Missouri failed early Saturday and part of the community located about 45 miles from of St. Louis was evacuated.

The Illinois Emergency Management Agency says the levee failure at Winfield didn't impact Illinois.

IEMA spokeswoman Patti Thompson says a levee break can temporarily lower water in other areas.

So far, 14 Illinois counties have been declared federal disaster areas and are receiving help to cope with severe storms and flooding.