Army blows 11,000-foot hole in Missouri levee to save town from flooding (and there is more rain on the way) - 3rd May 2011

At the moment a mighty explosion lit up the night sky, the Mississippi River gushed through the hole in an action which was to save the homes of thousands.

The 11,000-foot hole in a Missouri levee was intentionally blown open by the Army Corps of Engineers.

Even as the corps' carried out its bid to protect Cairo, Illinois, floodwaters were rising downriver, including in Memphis, Tennessee. And the breach in the Birds Point levee wasn't expected to ease those flooding concerns.

The Army Corps exploded the Birds Point levee after nightfall Monday, sacrificing 130,000 acres of rich farmland and about 100 homes in Missouri to spare the Illinois town of 2,800 residents that is at the confluence of the Ohio and Mississippi rivers.

Farmers and residents of Wyatt, close to the levee, gathered just after dawn Tuesday to survey the several feet of murky brown waters inside. A small cluster of cattle stood grazing on the slope of the levee, and National Guard soldiers patrolled the area.

Travis Williams, 34, a farmer who owns more than 1,000 acres now under water, said his home is safe because it is on 'the good side of the levee'.

He said: 'It's a life changing event. My heart goes out to all the farmers who lost their land and homes.'

Billy and Tammy Suggs, who live in Wyatt, opened up the town's tiny city hall so people would have a place to gather and mourn together as the blast occurred Monday night.

They said it was a lot stronger than expected, knocking out windows in several homes.

'We went around putting boards up to keep the rain out,' Billy Suggs said. Read More