Floods in midwest and plains kill over 20

August 21, 2007

The powerful storm system that flooded parts of the Midwest and the Plains moved through Ohio today. Six people were killed in Oklahoma, eight were killed in Texas, and one person was killed in Missouri due to the storms.

The flooding was a result of a powerful storm system combined with the remnants of Tropical Storm Erin.

Some parts of the U.S. saw eleven inches of rain in the matter of a few hours on Monday. The storms moved into Ohio on Tuesday, flooding a seven-mile (11 km) stretch of Interstate 75 in northwestern Ohio.

Sheriff's Lt. Neil Riedlinger said, water was over 3 feet (1 m) deep in some areas of downtown Carey, Ohio, and a local nursing home had to be evacuated. Firefighters had to use boats to rescue numerous people.

And, about 200 people were evacuated in the Akron, Ohio area due to severe flooding.

Southwestern Wisconsin was under another flash flood watch Tuesday night and Wednesday, with a chance of rain through Friday.

On Monday, the heavy rain flooded street, streams, and a sewage treatment plant in Iowa.

Wind gusts of up to 82 mph (132 km/h) and golf-ball sized hail were reported in Nebraska from these storms.

In Minnesota, a dive team and a National Guard helicopter were called in to search for Jered Lorenz, 37, whose car was found overturned lodged in between rocks along a creek. Numerous mud slides were reported all across Minnesota, an area believed to be among the hardest hit areas according to meteorologists. Ben Tracy of WCCO-TV in Rushford, Minnesota reported, "It's the worst flooding anyone here has seen in 30 years." Orange X's in the area mark buildings that have already been searched for survivors.