Photo by Todd Weddle / St. Joseph News-Press / Purchase this photo

Mike Bucher wades through floodwater Monday afternoon looking for help finding sand as friends help Poochie and Pam Johnson sandbag their home Monday afternoon in preparation for floodwaters. Mr. Johnson said this is the third time in the 10 years the family has lived in the home, that they have been flooded.

Heavy spring rains pushed some rivers and streams out of their banks Monday, causing minor flooding along low-water crossings and farms.

Emergency personnel closed roads in eight Northwest Missouri counties. The National Weather Service reported rain levels between 2 to 3 inches from the thunderstorms that whipped through the region starting Sunday evening.

The Platte River swelled on Monday at Poochie and Pam Johnson’s farm in rural Buchanan County. A dirt levee broke and made an island around their home near 85th Street and Cook Road. The property was only accessible by boat and pickup.

Friends helped fill sandbags around the home Monday afternoon. The Platte River is not expected to crest until 1 p.m. today.

“We will try to save what we got,” Mr. Johnson said. “We’ve lived here for 10 years and this is probably the third time we’ve gone through this.”

In addition to Mr. Johnson’s home and a nearby trailer home, Bill Brinton, Buchanan County emergency management director, said a home on Saxton Easton Road near Route C had been threatened by water and the home’s residents evacuated. High-water also closed a roadway near the 5900 block of Mitchell Ave., he said.

Officials were also keeping a close eye on the Platte River in Agency, Mo. Waters were at flood stage and rising Monday evening.

Mr. Brinton said Missouri Route H was closed due to high waters, but that no homes in Agency had yet been threatened.

The National Weather Service forecasts more rain in the St. Joseph area on Wednesday. The rain continues until late Friday.

Also Monday, the Missouri Department of Transportation reported road closures in the eight Northwest Missouri counties — Andrew, Buchanan, Daviess, DeKalb, Gentry, Harrison, Nodaway and Worth.

Rising water from the 102 River closed Missouri Highway 48 and Route C near Rosendale and Route B near Bolckow.

In Buchanan County, flooding by the Platte River closed Missouri Route H and a portion of Missouri Route P. Flooding from Lick Fork Creek closed Missouri Route M, five miles east of Missouri Route 13. A flooding Lost Creek closed Missouri Route W in DeKalb County about three miles east of Missouri Route A. In Carmack, Mo., a flooding West Fork of the Grand River closed Missouri Route H. Big Creek flooded and waters rose across Missouri Route M about two miles west of Eagleville, Mo. The 102 River flooded, closing Missouri Route U at Arkoe. In Worth County, a flooding Big Creek closed Missouri Route M two miles east of Missouri Route C. Missouri Route A was closed one mile west of Missouri Highway 46.

In Northeast Kansas, the state closed Kansas Highway 116 over Elk Creek in Jackson and Atchison counties.

Ahmad Safi can be reached at ahmadsafi@npgco.com. Marshall White can be reached at marshall@npgco.com.