Clarksville Battles Storm As Well As Flooding

Clarksville continues to show its indomitable spirit.

Two months of fighting the Mississippi River to its second-highest level in the town’s 202-year history came with an extra whammy over the weekend.

A storm that blew through with heavy rain and high winds Saturday night caused property damage and power outages.

The Clarksville Apartments along First Street were damaged when debris kicked up by what witnesses called tornado-like winds landed on the roof.

There were no injuries or evacuations, but downed lines left many residents of the Clarksville and Paynesville areas without electricity. Ameren Missouri crews restored power to most homes Sunday. It was estimated that almost 800 residents were affected by the outages.

City officials urged residents to remain in their homes and asked folks to avoid coming to town so the streets could be clear for crews to conduct necessary work.

Residents were also asked to conserve water until power was restored. Generators were brought in by the State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA) to help keep public works operating.

The river level stood Monday morning at just over 37 feet and is expected to drop. Volunteers have built a sandbag levee to withstand a 38-foot level. The record is 37.7 feet in 1993.

Clarksville has had seven of its top 10 floods in the last 18 years. Three of the crests have taken place this year alone.

Highway 79 is closed in six Pike County locations and the Champ Clark Bridge at Louisiana remains closed due to flooding on the Illinois approach.