New Madrid spared from flooding

NEW MADRID, MO (KRCU) - New Madrid has been spared much of the flooding damage and devastation that other communities have felt this spring.

The city’s levees have held. Pumping stations are removing backwater from city streets.

A series of eight to ten sand boils have appeared on streets along the levee. New Madrid city administrator John Gilbert says that they are under control, but he expects more sand boils to bubble up from time to time.

"And so the minute we see one, we plug it," Gilbert said. "So we have not had too much problem with them yet. We’re expecting more streets to kind of give way and maybe some sewer lines to sink. We’re going to have some problems after the fact like many cities."

Gilbert believes that opening up the Birds Point-New Madrid floodway helped relieve pressure at New Madrid and other communities along the Mississippi.

Jacob McCleland, KRCU

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