The death toll from flooding in Missouri rose to 14 Wednesday, and at least two rivers rose higher than during devastating floods in 1993, officials said, but the region was bracing for more flooding.
While the Meramec River in Pacific, about 40 miles southwest of St. Louis, crested at lower than feared levels, water remained high downstream and was expected to continue to rise elsewhere.
Water levels along a 30-mile levee in Perry County near the Mississippi River, where Sabreliner Aviation and other major employers are located, are dangerously high, Gov. Jay Nixon said. He said recovery could be prolonged.
"This is gonna be a while. You don't have this much water over a place with a population and businesses and a lot of public assets, and the water goes down … it's not over," Nixon said.