After three months of being submerged in flood waters, some bridges and roads are finally passable in the tiny island town of Kaskaskia, Ill., on the Mississippi River. But local officials still don't have a good idea of how much damage has been done.
As record rain fell this spring, Illinois' first capital was cut off from its neighbors in Missouri and the rest of Illinois by up to 45 ft. of water It was only in the first week of July when the roughly three dozen residents of Kaskasia, which has no stores or schools, could cross the river in their vehicles. All of Kaskaskia's bridges were underwater from April until early July and heavy rains destroyed the crops grown on the fertile island ground.