Poplar Bluff evacuees may go home soon

POPLAR BLUFF, Mo. (AP) - The rain is over, at least for a couple of days, and the Black River is starting to recede at Poplar Bluff, Mo. As a result, some 1,000 evacuees may soon be allowed to go home.

The National Weather Service said Thursday that after a crest of 21.4 feet on Tuesday, the Black River at Poplar Bluff was down to 19.6 feet. City police officer James Sisk says emergency officials were meeting Thursday morning to decide if people evacuated on Monday will be allowed to go home.

Some will find a mess. The levee that protects a low-lying area of Poplar Bluff and Butler County was overtopped in more than 30 places, and breached in a couple more. Officials don't yet know how many homes sustained water damage. Well over 100 water rescues were reported.