The swollen Missouri and Mississippi rivers are closing hundreds of roads and inundating homes and businesses.
Locks and dams upstream of St. Louis are shut down as the Mississippi River crests at its second-highest level on record in some areas, straining agriculture levees.
Floodgates also have been closed in St. Louis in advance of the river cresting there Thursday.
The high water already is causing problems. The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports that several hotels that were crowded with visitors for the Stanley Cup Final and Cardinals-Cubs baseball games were left without hot water Sunday after too much water overwhelmed a pump station.
Along the Missouri River, water levels were falling in Jefferson City after a crest that flooded railroad tracks and airport property. Statewide, nearly 400 roads are closed.
