Breaches in Missouri River levees upstream of St Joseph are causing a lot of problems in Holt and Atchison Counties, but are improving conditions in St Joseph.

After a fourth breach on the L-575 Levee in Atchison County, residents at Hamburg, Iowa began filling sandbags Tuesday morning even as the Iowa National Guard began the hurried chore of raising the temporary levee currently protecting the town.

Observers say that based on the flow decrease at Brownville, Nebraska by Monday evening, about 1100 acre-feet per hour were pouring through the levee west of Hamburg. As the breach widens, that rate is expected to increase.

The newest breach is located south of the previous three breaches in the L-575 Levee.

The photograph below was provided by Atchison County 911 / Emergency Management

Officials say the L-575 breach, along with one in Holt County, are reducing the flows downstream, including St Joseph, where the stage is expected to drop. According to current predictions from the National Weather Service, the stage at St Joseph was 23.14 feet at 11:30 a.m. Tuesday. River levels in St Joseph were expected to continue dropping until Wednesday morning, and then rise to about 25 feet by Sunday morning.