Law Enforcement Urging Residents to Leave the Flood Zone

Sherriff's officials in southeast Missouri are urging residents near the Birds Point Levee to clear out.

Law enforcement was busy Friday afternoon ordering the area's 200 residents to leave the flood plain while the Army Corps of Engineers weighs a decision to intentionally break the Mississippi River levee.

The move is aimed at reducing pressure on the flood wall protecting the upriver town of Cairo, Ill.

The land is sparsely populated, and many residents had already left as the corps began moving equipment into place to break the levee. That break is expected to send water over 130,000 acres of farmland.

The state of Missouri has fought the plan, but the corps says it's monitoring river levels and may not make a final decision on a break until the weekend.