At least 1,000 people evacuated their homes in the southern Missouri city of Poplar Bluff Monday, as water from the Black River overflowed a crucial levee after a week of heavy rains. "Once it tops it and flows over it, all indications are that it could breach imminently," Deputy Police Chief Jeff Rolland had told The Wall Street Journal. Some residents have already taken shelter at the city’s 5,000-seat coliseum, with 7,000 others at risk of being displaced if the levee breaks, MSNBC.com reported. More storms forecast this week threaten to flood other areas from Arkansas up through Illinois.
