SOUTHERN ILLINOIS (IRN) — The southern tip of Illinois is fighting to stay above water.

The Ohio River is flooding, and communities like Metropolis and Cairo are once again dealing with the consequences.

Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker saw the flooding for himself Tuesday. He promised help from the state.

“We’ve tried to be proactive,” Pritzker said. “We’ve moved equipment, we moved sandbags, and sandbag materials as fast as we could when knew that the river was rising. And we’re going to continue to back-up local officials and provide whatever it is that is necessary to make sure that people are protected.”

And not just for these floods. Pritzker said that he’ll come back to southern Illinois to invest, and try and lessen the damage from the next round of flooding.

“There is a whole bunch of area that’s been flooded that’s going to be a continuing problem over time,” the governor said. “So we’re going to have to work together to make sure that we mitigate any flooding that occurs going forward, after this flood subsides.”

The National Weather Service said the Ohio River is nearly eight feet above flood stage in far southern Illinois, and will continue to rise.

The river is not expected to slip back into its banks until early March.