Local flood damage tops $4 million

Norfork Lake is slowly starting to drop, thanks to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, which opened all 12 flood gates at Norfork Dam, sending water through the spillways at a rate of 38,000 cubic feet per second. The lake crested at 580.95 at 9 a.m. Monday. By 1 p.m. Tuesday, the level had dropped to 580.04. Top flood pool is 580 feet.

Meanwhile, Bull Shoals Lake is still rising. The lake level there was 688.36. Top flood pool is 695 feet. The Corps had two generators running Tuesday afternoon.

The lakes were filled after two rounds of rainfall invaded the area over the past 10 days, bringing as much as 21 inches of rain in some areas.

Ozark County Commissioners estimate the local flooding damage at just over $4 million, most of which involves roads and bridges.

Several roads remain closed or heavily damaged.

See complete story in Wednesday's <em>Ozark County Times.</em>

Norfork Lake is nearly touching the bridge at Tecumseh Monday afternoon.