Raw video: Levee breach in Winfield, MO

Raw video: Flood waters top levee in Elsberry, MO

Live views of the river Downtown St. Louis 1 | 2

St. Louis (KMOV) – The Lincoln County Emergency Operations Command and the Army Corp of Engineers confirmed a third levee breach southeast of Elsberry near Norton Woods Rd. on Thursday afternoon.

The breach is estimated to be 40 feet wide and water was said to be flowing west by southwest towards the Kings Lake Levee District north of Foley.

Officials expect further breaches as the levees continue to deteriorate.

Residents in the affected area are advised to evacuate their home and seek higher ground immediately.

Stay tuned to News 4 and KMOV.com for the latest updates.

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Winfield scrambles; crest levels revised downward

WINFIELD, Mo. (AP) -- Even as one levee broke near tiny Winfield, residents and other volunteers on Thursday continued fighting to save another, the last barrier shielding the community from the surging Mississippi River.

But there was good news for Missouri towns: The National Weather Service on Thursday significantly lowered crest predictions. The revised projections came after several levee breaks in Illinois, including one on Wednesday near Meyer, Ill., that potentially could inundate 17,000 acres of Illinois farmland with water that would have been flowing south.

The river tore through a levee late Wednesday near Winfield, about 50 miles north of St. Louis. Four homes were destroyed. News reports said two of the homes were ripped from their foundation and were seen floating away.

A second, inland, levee still protects most of the town of 720 residents. A team of 150 National Guard members helped local volunteers stack sandbags.

Many Winfield residents moved to higher ground. Opinions were mixed among Main Street merchants about whether the flood protection efforts would pay off.

Faith Burgess was staying put at her store, Second Time Around Antiques, confident the levee would hold. But next door, Randy Meyerpeter was packing up merchandise from his Tin Lizzie Antique Shop and moving, worried that even if the influx of water didn't topple the levee it might cause sewage to back up.

"It just ain't worth the chance," he said.

Until Thursday, crests were expected to be at or near record levels set in 1993 at Canton, Hannibal, Saverton, Louisiana, Clarksville and Winfield. But the latest projections are that those towns will see crests 1 foot to 3 feet lower than previously predicted, starting Sunday to the north through Tuesday at Winfield.

The new prediction shows St. Louis cresting at 37.3 feet on Friday, well short of the 49.58-foot mark in 1993.

In Canton, the river dropped more than 4 feet to below 23 feet. It dropped 2 feet in Hannibal.

Canton emergency management director Jeff McReynolds called the lower crest prediction exciting news, but said a voluntary evacuation order won't be lifted until officials are certain the levee is sound.

"I know folks want to go home, but we also want to keep them safe and we will make the best decision as quickly as we can," he said.

National Weather Service meteorologist Jim Kramper said river towns aren't safe yet.

"There will still be a lot of places with major flooding," Kramper said. "Even at the levels we're expecting now, a lot of places are threatened."

Problems continued at several Missouri sites. In La Grange, just south of Canton, Terrible's Mark Twain Casino closed its doors on Wednesday due to flooding that left Main Street submerged in murky water. Most residents live uphill from downtown and out of harm's way, but a few homes were taking on water.

Communities along Route 79 were hard hit. Water was expected to reach two-thirds of the 80 homes in Foley. Sandbagging continued in Clarksville as the picturesque town tried to stop the water from the small downtown filled with arts shops and antique stores.

In Louisiana, Mo., Mayor Don Giltner said about 10 businesses and 20 to 30 homes had water damage in the town of 3,900.

"The good part, if there is a good part, is that we had advance notice," Giltner said. "We knew it was coming; we knew when it would get here, and when it'll leave. We're hanging in there."

The St. Charles County town of West Alton sits near the convergence of the Mississippi and Missouri rivers. Many people have evacuated.

"You never know when there will be a breach in the levee," alderwoman Beth Machens said. "It's better to move back than have to move out in a hurry."

About 300 people accepted buyouts and moved away from West Alton after the 1993 flood. Recalling that fateful summer, Mayor William Niemeyer knows what to expect if the levee breaks.

"The whole town was under water," he said.

The flooding isn't expected to be quite as bad in St. Louis, but it was causing trouble. The city's annual Fourth of July festival, Fair St. Louis, and the Live on the Levee concert series, are moving to a new location. Setup has to begin in late June and organizers aren't sure floodwaters will have subsided enough by then.

Like many flood-ravaged spots in the Midwest, people in the Winfield area are pulling together.

Terry and Mary Hardin of Winfield lost their home in the Great Flood of 1993. Threatened again, the couple and their 10-year-old special needs daughter left behind their mobile home and moved in with their trash man and his family in nearby Troy.

Ken and Kim Knickmeyer barely knew the Hardin family but extended the offer after learning they had to evacuate. Knickmeyer's family fixed up the basement, where the Hardins are now staying.

"This just needed to be done," Kimberly Knickmeyer said. "They needed help, and we had the space."

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(Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)