On Tuesday, a surge of floodwaters threatened to unearth levees that protect the thousands of houses in the Midwest. The water rose so fast, the residents did not even have enough time to defend their houses with piled sandbags.

An average of a foot of rain was unleashed across the region and the weather forecast indicates that the storms will not dwindle down anytime soon. In fact, a bigger storm is expected to pass by the same path and heavy rain and tornadoes are expected.

However, among the areas in the Midwest, it is southern Missouri that faces the gravest threat for heavy flooding. Poplar Bluff, a town in Missouri with at least 17,000 residents received a total of six inches of heavy rain on Monday alone. The storms were so strong that by midday, the flood wall in the area was breached which allowed water to surge through.

In a nearby area, officials are contemplating on the idea of blowing up one levee just to lower down the pressure on others. Mark Dodd, Butler County Sheriff, said that at present, they have already evacuated at least a thousand families; and they are still planning to evacuate more people.

Terry Jones, a resident of Poplar Bluff who lives with her granddaughter who is still 12 years old, went to St. Louis for her sister’s funeral. When she got home, her front porch and living room are already flooded.

Workers in the street department of Poplar Bluff are already working double time, securing a couple of danger spots in the levees where water seepage is expected.

Rising rivers caused by several days of continued rain forced hundreds of families out of their homes in Maine and Maryland on Friday. However, flooding across the East is still far from a widespread catastrophe.

Currently waning out from the snowy winter season, areas outside of the city of New York were the most affected. Also, northern New Jersey, which is a notable flood-prone area, are still in water. The flood waters are not likely to dry for a couple of days.

State police reported that 1,300 homes had to be evacuated by midmorning Friday since they are situated in Pequannock close to the Pompton River. The same happened with 100 homes in Fairfield. By midday, several shelter homes opened as American Red Cross prepared for more.

Widespread  flooding is likely to occur along Pequannock, Pompton and Ramapo rivers in North Jersey. The rivers are still not likely to reach their peak until Saturday. However, Gov. Chris Christie said worst could happen.

Christie was condemned during a blizzard in late December when he was not in the state when it occurred. But now, he has announced a state of emergency even though the rain has not yet started.

According to weather agency National Weather Service, there will be no expected major rain for the next few days, which might give a chance for the area to get dry. The department also expected the Susquehanna River located northeast of Pennsylvania to rise as high as 8 feet near Wikes-Barre by Saturday.

Moderate flooding occurred in western Maryland while both Monocacy River near Frederick and Conococheague Creek in Fairview were already over their banks.

Minor flooding continued along the Ohio River and flood waters in Cincinnati were already 3 feet above the official flood level and still rising.