St. Louis Post-Dispatch from St. Louis, Missouri • Page 1

IS, i HP 1 fN 'ji ot" Tim mill 0 i A Wffl Shark Takes His Chomp Australian Greg Norman shoots a final round 64, capturing his second British Open title and posts a total of 267, a new record score SPORTS 1C What Lurks In A Lunchbox? If dangerous amounts of; pesticide residues are irt' fruits and vegetables, how can they be safe children? FOOD: SPORTS Cards Beat Astros 7-6 in 11th ic WORLD Japanese Shake Up Parliament 3A BUSINESS PLUS i Used Cars Rev Up Prices 4bp ST. 10 P05HHHEH 5-STAR MONDAY, JULY 19, 1993 Copyright 1993 V5 -ma if I tfcCf r. term11 tV Jerry Naunheim Jr.Post-Dispatch VOL. 115, NO. 200 Ant aerial view of water from the Jl Illinois Flooding: Levee breaks make a lake of some counties north of Alton.

5A Town By Town: Flooding 2 in Missouri and Illinois. 6A Portage Patrol: Crew --journeys into water to evac- residents 7A ajnsect Explosion: Mos-- quitoes may be coming. 7A Bridee Blow: Closina Hlrwle irK trr 1,000 in Hannibal 7A Weather Warning: Heat overwhelms volunteer sandbaggers 7A Animal Aid: People volun- teer help for displaced pets. 8A Community Support: Generosity for victims rises with rivers 9A Road Closings: Restric tions because of water. 3B Flood Information: How to get flood aid or give it 3B 2 River Watchers: Sightse- ers and their cameras cord history 3B WEATHER "iz.

Scattered Storms FORECAST Today Mostly cloudy, scattered storms today, tonight. High 90. Low 71. Tuesday Partly cloudy, chance of storms. High 89.

Other Weather, 14B POST-OISTATCH WEATHCMM1D -f i lii I. I .1 mm i- -l i Kin 18 Pf Surge Toward; Crest Swampsj More Homes By Virgil Tipton Of the Post-Dispatch Staff The Mississippi River's worst rolled through St. Louis on Sunday, pushing sandbags off a levee along the River Des Peres, shutting bridges to the north and south and transforming part of St. Louis County into a lake. The river was so loaded with debris that passengers in helicopters could smell it hundreds of feet up.

In south St. Louis, families fled at late morning when a 15-foot section of sandbags atop the River Des Peres levee collapsed. Within an hour, water stood waist high on Marceau Avenue and Alabama Street. Afterward, St. Louis Fire Chief Neil Svetanics warned that the levee would break in other places.

"There 1 i i IS HULUillg CISC llldl UU UC UUI1C, UC said. "It's saturated." By early evening, water had bro-' ken through'two other spots. In north St. Louis County, residents and volunteers in Bellefontaine Neighbors worked on their fourth sandbag wall to stop the advance of Maline Creek. Today was expected to mark the crest the high point of the flood at St.

Louis. The Mississippi's level hit 46.8; feet by Sunday evening; the National Weather Service expected it to reach. 47 feet overnight and to stay there most of today. A level of 47 feet would be 3.77 feet higher than the record set in! 1973. Now that the flood has reached its peak, does that mean that the worst is over? Maybe.

Maybe not. SeeFLOODINGlPageS Jim RackwitzPost-Dispatch ABOVE: Jane Zimmerli slosh-: ing through water Sunday as she carries some household items from her husband's aunt's home in the 500 block' of Hurck Street, near the River. Des Peres. LEFT: Carl Hull mopping his brow and more Sunday while delivering sandbags to volunteers working in Bellefontaine Neighbors, where Maline Creek is spilling into neighborhoods. Wes PazPost-Dispatch CREST: The Mississippi River at St.

Louis rose Sunday toward crest of 47 feet. The National Weather Service says the river will stay at that level here most of today. The level Is 3.77 feet higher than the record set in 1973. WEATHER: The Weather Service predicts more rain for today, Tuesday and the rest of the week for Missouri, Iowa and other parts of the region. River Des Peres rushing into south St.

Louis Sunday Just after sandbags on top of a levee collapsed. 1 JjT7n im i 7- iZT" 1 II South City Residents Evacuate River Des Peres Surge Pushes Sandbags Aside By Joe Holleman Of the Post-Dispatch Staff The theory that houses along the River Des Peres were in danger had been floating around for days. The reality surged forward in seconds Sunday morning when the river blew open a 15-foot section of sandbags east of Alabama Avenue and sent a cascade of water into houses in the surrounding neighborhood in St. Louis. On Sunday evening, the levee broke in two more places, threatening even more homes.

The major break happened about 11 a.m. near Marceau Avenue on the north side of the river and almost See RIVER, Page 8 INDEX Classified Commentary 7B Everyday 1-8D Movie Timetable 7D NationWorld 3A News Analysis 5B Obituaries 4B People 2A Sports 1-7C Television 6D EDITORIAL PAGE Questions For Judge Ginsburg Inslaw's Last Chance For Justice 6B iV 'y a "it'y I i 1 -j tf LV 2 100' 09189.