The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has opened a major spillway near New Orleans for the first time in years, seeking to decrease the flow of the swollen Mississippi River.
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As the Mississippi River and its tributaries retreated from historic winter levels that flooded towns, forced evacuations and killed two dozen people, residents in the St. Louis area were facing a massive cleanup and recovery effort that will likely last weeks.
Gov. Jay Nixon of Missouri and Gov. Bruce Rauner of Illinois toured flood-ravaged areas Saturday as near-record crest predictions of the Mississippi River and levee breaks threatened more homes.
The worst of the dangerous, deadly winter flood is over in the St. Louis area, leaving residents of several water-logged communities to spend the first day of 2016 assessing damage, cleaning up and figuring out how to bounce back - or in some cases, where to live.