The Mississippi River continued its rise to record levels on Friday with expected crests in the Cape Girardeau area of 50-feet Saturday evening. As of 5:30pm Friday, the river level was 48.7-feet, meaning another foot or more of rise is expected in these areas in the next 24 hours. The 48.7-feet measured Friday evening was already over the previous all-time record of 48.5-feet set back during the great flood of 1993.
Video package is a two-parter containing footage from the towns of Commerce, Missouri and the Dutchtown exit of I-55 near Cape Girardeau. See shot list below for specifics.
PART 1 (0:00-2:56) COMMERCE, MISSOURI
Commerce is a village located on the Mississippi River about 15 miles south of Cape Girardeau on Missouri Route E in Scott County.
Scene 1: Establishing shot of Commerce city limit signs.
Scene 2: Tight shot of Commerce city limit sign with water on road sign in the background.
Scene 3: Shot of Highway E with road closed sign with scene of a MO-DOT truck that fell off into a ditch.
Scene 4: Shot of MO-DOT truck that was dumping sand to attempt to slow the water rising up the main road. The truck backed into a water-filled ditch.
Scene 5: Tight shot of rear wheels in the water-filled ditch.
Scene 6: Shot of front of truck with two MO-DOT workers standing in front of it. Passenger-size wheels off the ground.
Scene 7: Tractor hooking up chain to pull the truck out of the ditch.
Scene 8: Tight shot of tractor driver hooking up chain to truck.
Scene 9: Driver of MO-DOT truck crawling over the hood.
Scene 10: Panning shot of tractor yanking out the MO-DOT truck back onto drier ground.
Scene 11: After being freed, truck resumes dumping sand on the road to build a mini-levee.
Scene 12-13: Shots of dirt levee.
Scene 14: Residents at a sand-bagged home standing on their porch surrounded by flood water.
Scene 15: Wide shot of home with residents on porch.
Scene 16: Shot of a Commerce home surrounded by flood waters.
Scene 17: Street sign in flood waters.
Scene 18: Shot looking down Highway E with submerged mailboxes, road closed sign, and street signs.
PART 2 (2:57-5:31) I-55 EXIT to DUTCHTOWN, MISSOURI (south Cape Girardeau)
The flooding here is caused by the Mississippi River backing up into the Castor River Diversion Channel which has overflowed to record levels. This is exit 93 on I-55 on the very south side of Cape Girardeau, Missouri in Cape Girardeau County. Dutchtown is completely cut off and flooded out and the only access is via boats.
Scene 19: MO-DOT sign on I-55 warning drivers that the Dutchtown exit is closed.
Scene 20: Shot looking down MO Highway 74 that is completely flooded with a boat coming at the camera with submerged highway signs on both sides.
Scene 21: Shot of boat coming down Highway 74.
Scene 22: Shot of boat coming under the I-55 overpass.
Scene 23: Boat approaching dry land on the east side of the exit, pushing off the guard rail with shovels.
Scene 24: The four in the boat get out.
Scene 25: A boat floats across Highway 74 passed several submerged signs.
Scene 26: Shot of boat floating by a Do Not Enter sign.
Scene 27: Shot of bottom of east side of ramps where the road closure begins.
Scene 28: Shot looking down where Highway 74 would be, all you see are signs sticking up out of the water.
Scene 29: Highway signs in the water.
Scene 30: Cape Auto Sales on east side of highway inundated by flood waters.
Scene 31: Employee of auto sales trying to load a truck in flood waters.
Scene 32: Several trucks in front of a business submerged in flood waters.
Scene 33: School bus in flood waters.
Scene 34: Wide shot of school bus in front of a residence in flood waters.
Scene 35: A business surrounded by flood waters with sandbags sticking up out of the water.