WYATT, Mo. (AP) - Residents say the blast from an intentional levee breach blew out windows and swamped thousands of acres of farmland near Wyatt.
Thirty-four-year-old farmer Travis Williams says his more than 1,000 acres of farmland are under water Tuesday morning following the Army Corps of Engineers' initial explosion at the Birds Point levee on the Mississippi River. Williams says his home is safe.
Billy and Tammy Suggs of Wyatt say they opened up the town's tiny city hall Monday night so people had a place to gather and mourn together as the blast occurred. They say they helped to put up boards to keep the rain out after the strong explosion knocked out windows in several homes.
Engineers hope the breach will protect the tiny Illinois town of Cairo (KAY'-roh) from flooding.