LINCOLN COUNTY, Mo. — Homes destroyed, families displaced and first responders working day in and day out.
That's how things were in Lincoln County this past spring and summer when the area lived through the second-highest flood on record.
"There was a point we worked two to three weeks straight, " Aaron Lee with the Winfield Fire Protection District said.
It's been a tough recovery, after the whirlwind of floods and levee breaches.
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The Winfield Primary was the first and one of the largest breaches in Lincoln County.
"It affected hundreds and hundreds of acres. It affected about 40 to 50 homes right off the bat," Lee said.
It washed out a large portion of Pillsbury Road leaving a crater. The only way across? By boat.
"It was massive, there was no crossing, the county road was wiped out the levee was fully breached," Lee added.
Lee said it wasn't until months later that the levee district could get to work.
That's because the river levels were still too high, in order for the water to drain. But when it was all dry, they were able to get things up and running.
The levee and road are back in action.
You can see the before and after here.
Even if this levee is back and packed in, Mother Nature may not hold back this spring.
"This repair would be the weakest spots in the levee," Lee said. "Levees have to cure, the more years a levee sits without water on the back, the stronger they get."
But Lee said they're ready for whatever is to come their way.
"We hope and pray the water stays down this spring."
Lincoln County Emergency Management said they are working with the National Weather Service and the Army Corps of Engineers. They have created a model that estimates how far inland water will come in if a levee is overtopped or breached.
Their Director, Jim Sharp, tells 5 On Your Side about sandbagging efforts in the future:
"As the rivers continued to rise last summer, the sand plants we usually rely on for sand (for sandbagging) were eventually inundated, causing us to engage our secondary suppliers who are farther away and consequently take more time to transport loads. We have therefore made arrangements to establish a strategic stockpile of sand. In the event, our sand plants are inundated again, or in the event of a flash flood, we will have this commodity readily available."
For now, they are keeping an eye on the weather up north and from there, they'll form a plan for this spring.
