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Police were going house to house in part of Poplar Bluff, Missouri, on Monday, ordering people to evacuate ahead of an imminent "catastrophic failure" of a levee on the Black River.

The city said the levee had been compromised after a week in which the area received more than eight inches of rain. Authorities ordered some residents most at risk to evacuate immediately. Other residents near the river were asked to closely monitor developments and water levels in their neighborhoods, the police department said.

"The levee is weakening by the minute and may fail at any time," the National Weather Service said in an alert Monday afternoon.

The weather service said the southeastern portion of the city would be inundated if the levee fails.The levee protects Poplar Bluff from the river, which is now more than four feet over flood stage, according to the weather service.

About 250 to 300 people living in the southeastern Missouri city of 17,045 were affected by the evacuation order, according to City Manager Doug Bagby. As many as 1,000 people could ultimately be affected, he said.

The Red Cross has established a shelter at the Black River Coliseum, according to the police department. Twenty-five residents were at the shelter as of midday Monday, according to the city.

Poplar Bluff, which is about 130 miles south of St. Louis, was under a flood warning from the National Weather Service. The agency said the Black River is expected to rise nearly another foot and a half before cresting Monday. But the Weather Service warned river levels could rise even more if heavy rains forecast in the next few days materialize.

Concern over the levee comes as parts of the Mississippi and Ohio River valleys brace for what the National Weather Service said could be major flooding throughout parts of the lower Mississippi River and Ohio River valleys.

The weather service said record flooding could occur at some locations along the Mississippi and Ohio rivers.

In Cape Girardeau, Missouri -- where the National Weather Service predicted the Mississippi River would crest Friday at 12.5 feet above flood stage -- the city-owned airport had to close Sunday as standing water from heavy rains covered its runways.

The airport was activating a pumping system to clear the water, airport administrative coordinator Katrina Atkins said, but it was unclear when the airport might reopen, as more heavy rainfall is forecast for the remainder of the week.