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'The river has left a big ugly mess behind' | Winfield starts cleanup as flood waters go down

"I just don’t want to live through another one," one Winfield resident said of the flooding.

WINFIELD, Mo. — Flood waters are finally going down in areas across the bi-state. 

Winfield — a city swamped after the Pin Oak levee breach — is now in clean-up mode. 

RELATED: Homes flooded after Mississippi River breaches Pin Oak levee in Winfield

"It's quite a mess over there, the river has left a big ugly mess behind," said Winfield's Mayor Ryan Ruckel.

As we roamed the area, corn remnants were on the ground and dirt and trash covered the streets.

"Everyone's trying to get back in their homes and find out if it's even going to be repairable. What's the damage? How much of my property has been gone?" Ruckel said.

Nora Peters had to live at the Red Cross shelter for two weeks. This was her first flood, but she's hoping it's her last. Now that she's back, she was in awe of what her home looks like. 

"Before I had a nice pretty yard with pretty flowers now my yard looks trashy. I guess we are going to try to get this cleaned up," Peters said.

But there are some signs of hope.

A highly used state highway is finally open: Highway 79 from 47 all the way to 70.

The biggest relief may be that Winfield should drop below major flood stage by Thursday, when the river will drop to 34 feet.

For those who need help, residents can go to city hall and get free cleaning supplies.

City leaders also are trying to get 12 dumpsters to put around the city for people to dump their debris.

With substantial damage to the city, the Board of Alderman decided to cancel their Celebrate Independence event because they don't feel it's appropriate to have a celebration when so many people are impacted. It will take place in September.


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