Facing The Floods

Josh Lightsy, 15, wades in waist high water after checking sandbags position around his grandmothers house, Friday, March 28, 2008 in Beulah, Ark. Waters had begun to recede slightly from last week's storms and flooding, but heavy rains predicted for the coming days could cause even more damage.

A flooded home on Horn Lake Road in Beulah, Ark., is seen Friday, March 28, 2008.

Dianna Mansfield, right, and her daughter Courtney Briggs, 14, left, take pictures of a flooded section of a road, Tuesday, March 25, 2008 in Des Arc, Ark. Sandbagging shored up a weakened levee along the White River on Tuesday and relieved a threat that it would fail as a major flood crest moved down the waterway. Although the rural levee in central Arkansas was leaking in spots, it was holding.

An American flag is covered by flood waters in a rural neighborhood outside of Des Arc, Ark., Monday, March 24, 2008. The White River flooded low-lying areas of Des Arc on Monday and continued to rise, as other towns along the river were warned they could suffer their worst flooding in more than a quarter-century in the continuing aftermath of severe weather last week.

John and Sue Ann Calhoun relocate their pygmy goats from their flooded property outside of Des Arc, Ark., Monday, March 24, 2008.

Dustin Wadkins, left, and Trey Newby, right, check out Newby's grandfathers flooded home, outside of Des Arc, Ark., Monday, March 24, 2008.

After a night of steadily rising water, the sun comes up over flooded Fenton, Mo. on Friday, March 21, 2008. The Meramec River continued to rise throughout the day and is expected to crest Saturday night.

Joseph Easley tries to prime a hose to pump water out of his parents front yard as flood waters recede in Dutchtown, Mo., Friday, March 21, 2008. Flooding from rainstorms blamed for at least 16 deaths threatened to worsen Friday, with many Midwestern rivers over their banks for more than a day already and the water level climbing.

Evacuee Patricia Norman, of Poplar Bluff, Mo., holds her eight-month-old son Devin Norman as her husband William watches their other four children at the Black River Coliseum, which is being used as a flood shelter in Poplar Bluff, Mo., Thursday, March 20, 2008. Overnight 122 people, including 21 AmeriCorps volunteers, spent the night.

Volunteers from the area and teenagers with the Civil Air Patrol work at stacking sandbags around the home of Valerie Ferguson Thursday March 20, 2008, north of Evansville, Ind. Residents warily watched as rivers continued to rise Thursday from heavy storms that killed more than a dozen people and dumped as much as a foot of rain on the Midwest.

Scott Alexander, 17, pours water out of his boots after putting sandbags around his mother's home Thursday, March 20, 2008, north of Evansville, Ind,.

A home near Hwy. W, north of Poplar Bluff, Mo., is surrounded by floodwaters from the Black River Thursday, March 20, 2008. President Bush declared a major disaster in Missouri on Wednesday night and ordered federal aid to supplement state and local recovery efforts in areas affected by flooding. Authorities are straining to keep pace with some of the worst flooding to hit their region in decades.

Highway AA east of Poplar Bluff, Mo., background, and the surrounding landscape are inundated by flood waters from the Black River Thursday, March 20, 2008.

Floodwaters from the swollen Black River surround a church and a racetrack Thursday, March 20, 2008, in Poplar Bluff, Mo. Parts of Missouri got a foot of rain over a 36-hour period this week, causing widespread flash flooding and swelling many rivers.

A neighborhood in the south portion of Poplar Bluff, Mo., sits under water Thursday, March 20, 2008, even as flood waters from the nearby Black River were slowly receding. Several areas in Missouri were bracing for record-level flood surges expected to hit Friday and Saturday.

County, state and U.S. Coast Guard officials come up with a rescue plan for residents of Coon Island, Mo., after a levee break caused water to rise and cut off the island on Thursday, March 20, 2008. The Coon Island levee near Poplar Bluff, Mo., broke around noon Thursday, and authorities prepared to conduct water rescues as necessary.

Volunteers travel over floodwaters of the Black River looking for residents in need of rescue in Poplar Bluff, Mo. on Thursday, March 20, 2008. Days of rain turned the Midwest into a soggy mess, flooding roads, stranding motorists and displacing residents -- with a cleanup bill likely to run in the millions.

Miami Township fireman Cody Ratliff posts the flood height the Miami River reached, Thursday, March 20, 2008, in Miamitown, Ohio.

A for sale by owner sign is posted outside a home surrounded by flood waters, Thursday, March 20, 2008, in Miamitown, Ohio. The Miami River reached 26.5 feet.