Tagged: Flooding

The good news is that "the big river didn't get too big," The St. Louis Post-Dispatch writes this morning.

"Sandbags held back the cresting Mississippi River from several towns north of St. Louis on Sunday," it adds, "while the forecast for the immediate vicinity remained high but manageable."

Towns in Missouri, central Illinois and at least four other Midwestern states are under a flood warning, as heavy spring rains swell the Mississippi and other rivers to dangerously high crests. In some areas, rivers have already hit record flood levels.

In places where residents have been forced to evacuate their homes, the American Red Cross has set up shelters at schools and other facilities.

A large storm system moving through the center of the country, has already caused major flooding in Chicago and is threatening to bring severe weather to the Tennessee Valley all the way to the Gulf Coast, tonight.

Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn declared a state of emergency Thursday afternoon, NBC Chicago reported.