Mo. governor activates Guard because of flooding

POPLAR BLUFF, Mo. (AP) - About 400 members of the National Guard are descending on southeast Missouri to aid flood-relief efforts there.

The guardsmen are helping with sandbagging, levee monitoring, and door-to-door checks on residents.

Gov. Jay Nixon activated the Guard on Monday after it became apparent that Poplar Bluff was endangered by its fragile levee. The levee was breached Tuesday by the rain-swollen Black River.

More than 6 inches of rain has fallen on Poplar Bluff since Monday, bringing the four-day total in the area to 15 inches. That precipitation caused the Black River to pour over the levee in 30 places from Poplar Bluff to the downriver town of Qulan (KWIL'-in).

More showers and thunderstorms were expected Tuesday.