Missouri Sandbag Efforts Hedge Bets on Flood Crest : Disaster: The Mississippi puts fearsome pressure on levees at Cape Girardeau. Even with water ebbing, residents aren’t ready to relax yet.

Townspeople shored up already-reinforced sandbag barriers in Cape Girardeau on Sunday as they kept up the battle to protect southeastern Missouri’s low-lying areas from the relentless pressure of the flooded Mississippi River.

With the river’s level hovering at 47.9 feet for a second day, it appeared that Cape Girardeau’s predicted crest of 48.5 to 49 feet wouldn’t come true. But officials said it was still too early to become complacent.

The Mississippi was still nearly 16 feet above flood stage at Cape Girardeau on Sunday.

Flooding on the Mississippi and Missouri and their tributaries has contributed to the deaths of 48 people and caused an estimated $15 billion in damage in nine Midwestern states.

The Mississippi and Missouri were ebbing above Cape Girardeau. But even with water dropping as much as a foot in 24 hours, earthen levees, flood walls and sandbag barriers remained under much more pressure than they were designed for.

“It’s not over,” said Jean Rissover, a volunteer in Ste. Genevieve, which weathered a crest of 49.67 feet Friday--well over the 1973 record of 43.3 feet. The town, settled by the French in 1735, is the oldest permanent settlement on the west bank of the Mississippi.

In Hannibal, in northeast Missouri, where the river has been over flood stage since April 1, residents returned to some flooded neighborhoods south of downtown to begin cleaning. But the bridge over the Mississippi to Illinois, a vital link for the region’s economy, remained closed.

Downtown Hannibal, boyhood home of Mark Twain, was saved by a new flood wall, and tours went on as usual Sunday at Twain’s restored home with its white-washed fence.

At St. Louis, where the river is expected to fall below flood stage in late August or early September, all but about 200 of some 12,000 residents who were evacuated a week ago were returning to their homes. They were forced out because of fears of explosions and fire at a flooded propane tank facility.

In Hermann, Mo., flooding along the Missouri River knocked out gas service Friday. The community attracts tourists for its German festivals, food and wineries.

“Restaurants are using what they call creative menus and cooking with propane camp stoves and microwaves and so on,” said Frank Wissmath, a volunteer with the city’s tourism office.

Twelve of the city’s 27 bed-and-breakfasts have electric water heaters, he said, and a couple of the ones that don’t were giving discounts for cold showers.

About 70 homes and businesses in Cape Girardeau had taken on water since flooding began earlier this summer. Others are unreachable because of high water, Fire Chief Ron Kistner said. Downtown is protected by a flood wall.

“They’re hoping this is the last one,” said Norma Mungle, whose husband runs Red Star Construction out of their home behind the north end of the city’s flood wall. “We never know if that will hold or not.”