At a Glance

Landslides and washouts will keep major roads closed for days, if not weeks, in the South.The Mississippi River won't crest in Vicksburg, Mississippi, until middle March.The northwest Mississippi town of Glendora was surrounded by floodwaters Wednesday.At least three deaths have been connected to the prolonged flooding.

Some rivers in parts of the south are beginning to recede but others further downstream continue to rise and are expected to do so for weeks to come.

The Tennessee River Authority said Thursday the river levels had begun to recede in northern Alabama and western Tennessee but cautioned residents to not let their guard down with more rain expected this weekend, the Associated Press reported.

Other rivers, including the Ohio and Mississippi rivers continue to rise.

The Ohio River is predicted to crest this weekend at Cairo, Illinois, at the third-highest level ever. Further downstream, it will be some time before the flooding ends. The Mississippi River is not expected to crest in Vicksburg, Mississippi, until the middle of March.

On Friday, Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards , which allows the state to coordinate help in parishes that may need help dealing with possible river flooding.

Earlier in the week, Mississippi Gov. Phil Bryant declared a state of emergency for affected counties, while Kentucky Gov. Matt Bevin declared an emergency for the entire Bluegrass State. Fourteen Tennessee counties remain under , WSMV reported.

On Wednesday, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers opened the Bonnet Carre Spillway, which is located about 12 miles upriver from New Orleans. The opening helps to divert some of the river's water into Lake Pontchartrain in southeastern Louisiana and keeps New Orleans levees from being further stressed, according to the Associated Press.

This was the first time in the 88 years of the spillway's existence that it needed to be opened in consecutive years, and only the 13th time it has been opened at all, the report added.

(MORE: Severe Flooding Swamps Several Northern California Towns)

In northwestern Mississippi, the tiny town of Glendora was Wednesday morning from the Tallahatchie and Black Bayou rivers, Glendora Mayor Johnny Thomas told the Greenwood Commonwealth.

Thomas noted the floodwaters were just inches from the covering U.S. Highway 49 in both directions. Glendora is home to 151 residents.

"I've never seen it this bad," Thomas told the AP. "I'm surrounded with water under my house."

In Mississippi, early damage reports revealed nearly 500 homes and 30 businesses were damaged in the storms and flooding, the Mississippi Emergency Management Agency said in a news release Monday. More than 200 roads and bridges also were damaged.

(MORE: Mississippi Tornado Leaves One Person Dead)

At least three deaths have been confirmed.

Here's how the prolonged flooding has affected other parts of the South.

Tennessee

The Tennessee River crested at Perryville, Tennessee, on Wednesday at the third-highest level ever.

"People are going to be when the water recedes," Hardin County Mayor Kevin Davis, who declared a local emergency on Saturday, told the Jackson Sun.

Knox County Commissioner Larsen Jay told the News Sentinel the flooding was " in my 25 years in and around Knoxville."

"What I saw was just massive areas of flooding in all areas of town," Jay said. "There were no areas of Knoxville that weren't affected."

Knox County Mayor Glenn Jacobs said a large on Greenwell Road in Powell, Tennessee, about 7 miles outside Knoxville. WVLT reported the sinkhole was about 60 feet deep and growing.

The Knoxville County Sheriff's Office said early Sunday. Rescuers freed the man and took him to a hospital where he was pronounced dead, the sheriff said. He was identified as 59, of Knoxville, the Knoxville News Sentinel reported.

On Thursday, a landslide took out both lanes of State Road 70. One person died in that slide.

Alabama

A days after the vehicle he was riding in was swept off a bridge by floodwaters from a creek at Bucks Pocket State Park. Local authorities say efforts have transitioned from search to recovery of the boy's body.

Kentucky

The Wolf Creek Dam near Kentucky's Lake Cumberland, which was repaired five year ago at a cost of $600 million, has held up well despite a record level of water at the lake, the AP reported.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers released nearly 60,000 cubic feet of water per second from the dam on Tuesday, which resulted in some flooding along the Cumberland River.

Arkansas

The early Saturday in rising waters on Highway 37 near Elgin, Arkansas, KAIT reports. Loyd Cockrell, 76, of Jonesboro reportedly went around four barricades on Highway 37 while traveling in the area, Jackson County Sheriff David Lucas said.

“Preliminarily law enforcement officers believe Cockrell drowned sometime late yesterday as he attempted to drive along a flooded stretch of Arkansas Highway 37,” Sadler said in a statement to KAIT.

North Carolina

Interstate 40 remains closed from Clyde, North Carolina, to the Tennessee state line after a landslide , the Asheville Citizen-Times reported. Both sides of the interstate will be closed for at least a week while the eastbound lanes are set up to handle traffic from both directions. The westbound lanes will be closed for four to six weeks, officials told the newspaper. About nine cars were damaged in the landslide.

A Subway restaurant on in Chattanooga, Tenn. destroyed from a recent mudslide , and @Shuford's Smokehouse nearby. (Facebook/ Chattanooga Fire Department)