The levee was lost Friday at this eastern Missouri town, but emergency workers still hoped to save about 100 homes.

The breach at about 5 a.m. at the Pin Oak levee at a spot just south of Winfield slowly began to flood about 3,000 acres. Army Corps of Engineers dam safety chief Travis Tutka said muskrat holes caused the breach.

The good news: the break happened far enough away from the residential area that the water wasn’t expected to get there for several hours.

National Guard Col. Michele Melton said plans call for a four-foot-tall sandbag levee to be hurriedly built around the residential area.