EAST PRAIRIE, Mo. (AP) - When the Army Corps of Engineers was forced to intentionally breach the Birds Point levee in southeast Missouri at the height of spring flooding, many feared the rich 130,000 acres of farmland would be a total washout for 2011.
But the Columbia Missourian (http://bit.ly/utzh1X) reports that six months later, farmers are midway through harvesting the land that has recovered faster than expected.
The corps decided to use explosives to blow open the levee on May 2 to relieve pressure on the river and reduce the threat of flooding at nearby Cairo, Ill. The levee is part of a floodway designed to be opened in times of severe flooding.
Several homes, roads and property were destroyed, but experts say the land has rebounded quickly.
Information from: Columbia Missourian, http://www.columbiamissourian.com