WINFIELD, Mo. — River levels along the Mississippi have lowered enough in Winfield that it's making it a little easier for people to get in and out.
Mandy Harris had to row a small inflatable boat to get out of her house and to her truck on dry ground. She said since the flooding started, she's only left her home several times to get groceries.
"I drive my truck as far as I can and then I get the boat out and go to the house from the boat," she said.
The whole process just to get from her house to the truck takes about 15 minutes, then, when she's done, it takes another 15 minutes to get from the truck home.
Harris said at first she was walking through the water, which was up to her belly button but got the boat when she started spotting gar in the water.
"They scared me," Harris said.
The water is lowering at a painstakingly slow rate. While the water gets out of the way, parts of Winfield are developing a stink. It smells like a mix of mildew, rot and dirty, stagnant water. The water isn't just outside the homes, it's also inside them.
Harris' neighbor, Jeff Rockers, had about 16 inches of water in his house. The water has receded, but now there's a layer of muck left to clean out.
Rockers said he's never seen some of the things in his home before.
"Big leeches, crawdads that looked like lobsters, worms that are unbelievable. They're so big they don't even look like worms," he said.
Rocker is mostly cleaning out things like cornstalks and grass that washed in. He said if you leave it alone for too long, it will smell.
Rocker and many others are on their own. The Red Cross will be in town surveying, but homes need 18 inches of water to qualify for national aid. When the water does recede, the Red Cross will distribute cleaning kits. The kits will include things like gloves, trash bags and shovels.
The Red Cross is asking people in need of assistance to call them at 314-516-2800 then press extension 1 twice.