Residents of a flooded Missouri Valley neighborhood are gradually beginning the clean-up now that the waters have receded.

More than a week after the heavy rains filled parts of the Willow Park neighborhood, the flood victims were finally allowed to drive into the neighborhood on Monday but they won't be staying.

"There's so much bacteria," said Linda Thomas. "We can't live here 'til it's safe from mold and bacteria. It's inside the cupboards, the walls, the mattress.''

Some homes will need more than just cleaning. It will take some rehab work to replace drywall and insulation.

Acres of stagnant water and rotting debris have filled the air with a smell that has prompted some to wear masks.

Glenna Plath, with the Harrison County Health Department says, "There's sewage, runoff from the fields, chemicals, lots of dead night crawlers you see down there."

Tetanus is another threat. A small cut exposed to the polluted water can become a big problem and with more people returning to work on their homes, cuts are likely. The Health Department has given out 150 tetanus shots so far and has another 100 on order.

The Thomas family found a silver lining Monday. Their 104-year-old heirloom piano made it through the flood.

Next door, Gary Rodewald found a statue of an angel in his front yard.

"That angel was lying in front of my door in the muck and mire," Rodewald said. "She floated in from somewhere."

Even though the roads are clear enough to let cars back in, there is still a lot of standing water in fields and in ditches. Neighbors expect the smell to linger as long as the water does.

Officials with the Federal Emergency Management Agency are on the scene doing their initial damage assessment.

Local officials still have part of the town under an evacuation order. They're using wrist bands to keep track of everyone going into and out of the neighborhood.