(CNN) -- With a series of blasts that briefly illuminated the night sky like lightning, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers began blowing up a Mississippi River levee overnight, flooding about 200 square miles of rich farmland in an effort to bring down historic river levels and spare the city of Cairo, Illinois and other communities.

The controversial decision to breach the Birds Point-New Madrid levee appeared to be working, said Col. Vernie Reichling, commander of the Corps' Memphis district.

The Ohio River at Cairo peaked at 61.72 feet just before the blast late Monday -- the highest level on record, according to the National Weather Service. By 6 a.m. Tuesday, it had fallen to 60.62 feet, according to river gauge readings provided by the Corps. Even that still exceeds the previous record of 59.5 feet set in 1937, according to Weather Service records.

The breach could cause river levels to fall by three to four feet over the next few days, according to Maj. Gen. Michael Walsh, commander of the Corps' Mississippi River Valley Division.
Army Corps opts to blow up levee

Without an intentional breach, authorities had warned of massive flooding that could wipe out the city of Cairo, which sits at the confluence of the Ohio and Mississippi rivers. Cairo's mayor had already ordered the city's 2,800 residents to evacuate.

Missouri officials took the Corps to court over the plan, questioning the agency's authority to intentionally breach the levee. The state argued the flood waters would deposit silt on the some 130,000 acres of farmland that Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon described as "literally the most productive part of our continent."

The silt, he said, would take years to clear, causing long-lasting damage.

The U.S. Supreme Court declined to intervene in the case on Sunday, clearing the way for Walsh's decision to blow the levee.

Nixon estimated it will take tens, if not hundreds of millions of dollars to recover from the intentional flooding.

Walsh said the fate of Cairo was just one of many factors in his decision, saying he hoped the move would alleviate issues throughout the Mississippi River system. Water levels and flooding have hit record highs in many spots, putting severe strains on systems meant to prevent uncontrolled floods and the resulting loss of life and property.

"Nobody has seen this type of water in the system," he said. "This is unprecedented."

He called the decision to inundate the farmland and about 100 homes "heart-wrenching."

"I've been involved with flooding for 10 years and it takes a long time to recover from something like this," he said.

The initial series of blasts happened late Monday. Engineers then set the second charges overnight and planned to detonate them early Tuesday. A third series of detonations will follow, according to the Corps.

The governors of Illinois and Missouri said authorities in both states are prepared for the blast and subsequent flooding, according to prepared statements.

"I urge Missourians to continue to cooperate fully with state, county and local law enforcement, as they have at every stage of this process," Nixon said. "Together, we will ensure that Missouri families stay safe in the coming days. And together, we will recover and rebuild."

A statement released by Quinn's office called the decision to breach the levee "an important step to ensure public safety as we respond to this crisis."

Even as the river was falling, Walsh did not rule out similar moves elsewhere along the Mississippi and its tributaries, saying the levee system is already under unprecedented pressure and warning water levels could rise again.

"This doesn't end this historic flood," he said.





An engorged Mississippi River spilled out onto huge swaths of farmland in the South and Midwest on Wednesday, prompting massive flooding from Minnesota to Louisiana.
Heavy rains spawned flooding that meteorologists say is not expected to fully relent until early June. Areas along the Ohio River Basin also experienced heavy flooding, forcing residents to evacuate low-lying areas across the region.
Earlier, the intentional breach of a levee on the Mississippi helped to ease unprecedented flood pressure on other areas, according to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.
The Ohio level had dropped about 1.7 feet at Cairo, Illinois, since Monday afternoon, before the blast, but that is expected to level off later on Wednesday.
The breach, created when engineers detonated explosives late Monday night at Birds Point, Missouri, is sending 396,000 cubic feet of water per second onto 200 square miles of fertile Missouri farmland.
The water is coursing across a floodway that Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon described as “literally the most productive part of our continent.”
Farmer Bryan Feezor said the sight makes you “sick to your stomach” as he surveyed his submerged fields.
“Farming is all I ever have done … and it’s underwater,” he told CNN St. Louis affiliate KPLR. “I really don’t know (what I’m going to do).”
A second levee blast was conducted Tuesday afternoon at New Madrid, Missouri, and a third is planned Wednesday near Hickman, Kentucky. The second and third blasts, downstream of Birds Point, will allow floodwater to return to the Mississippi River.
While the plan appeared to be working — the level of the Ohio River fell where it joins the Mississippi — record crests and relentless water pressure still threatened communities throughout the Mississippi and Ohio river valleys.