EAST MOLINE, Illinois -- The American Red Cross distributed bottled water to families on Campbell's Island affected by the rising Mississippi River floodwaters. Many homes are already taking on water, while for some homeowners it's only a matter of time.
"The water's come up this far since yesterday, where the pitchfork handle is," said Michelle Craigmiles, pointing out her husband's makeshift flood marker. "Every night when I get home at midnight I look and see where my husband’s put the pitchfork as our marker of how high it’s gotten for that day, and it’s like wow, it’s moving fast," she said.
This is the first flood for the Craigmiles, who moved here a little more than a year ago. For others on the island, flooding is just a fact of life.
"It’s worth the benefits that we have -- you know we look out the back window and we see the river and animals and our dock and our boats are right there," said Dan Roberson, who was seen on Friday moving a Jeep to higher ground for the last time until the river recedes.
Roberson said that from here on out, he and his wife would either have to wade in or take a boat to get home.
"It’s just an inconvenience and we’ll get through it," Roberson said. "We pull together as a community and help each other out. It’s what we do," he said.
Flood stage at Campbell's Island sits at about 11 feet -- as of Friday afternoon it had reached about 14 and a half feet. The Mississippi River was expected to crest at 15 feet on Sunday.
