Several Midwestern states remained underwater on Monday as 50 million people across the United States continue to be under heat warnings.
Heavy rains over the weekend caused deadly flooding in South Dakota, Iowa and Minnesota. Many places have already seen the worst of the flooding, but the lower James, Vermillion and Little Sioux rivers are expected to peak later this week. National Weather Service (NWS) said.
Tornadoes and hail were also possible in parts of South Dakota, and flooding could continue Tuesday, the NWS said. NWS forecasters said another round of flooding was possible on Thursday.
One person has already died from flooding in South Dakota, Gov. Kristi Noem told reporters Sunday. She declined to provide further information about her death, citing privacy concerns for her family.
Gov. Kim Reynolds, who declared a state of emergency for 21 counties, said the flooding also destroyed businesses, medical facilities and homes in Iowa.
“Businesses are closed. Main roads have been affected,” Reynolds said. “Hospitals, nursing homes and other care facilities have been evacuated. “There is no power in some cities, and there is no drinking water in some cities.”
About 4,000 people were evacuated from Rock Valley, Iowa, as flooding swept through the community Sunday. Officials conducted water rescue operations throughout the day.
“A team of 13 people with multiple rescue boats rescued many people and animals trapped in the floodwaters,” Sioux City Fire Rescue officials said. said Rock Valley Rescue.
Drone footage posted Sunday by the Woodbury County, Iowa Sheriff’s Office shows several buildings, including a home, submerged in floodwaters in the village of Correctionville, with only the roof visible. Several power lines and roads were also underwater, the video showed.
In Sioux City, Iowa, a train bridge collapsed late Sunday due to a swollen Big Sioux River. The collapsed bridge began moving downstream toward another closed commuter bridge, local outlet KTIV4 reported.
Noem said the Big Sioux River is expected to break the record 42.2 feet by Monday afternoon.
Meanwhile, flooding in Minnesota has left “whole communities under water,” Gov. Tim Walz said Saturday.
More than 50 million people in the central United States were under heat warnings as of Monday as catastrophic flooding continues.
These alerts come after much of the central and eastern United States was under a heat dome, an oppressive atmospheric phenomenon that traps heat and causes extreme heat waves.
As the climate crisis makes heat waves more extreme and frequent in the U.S. and around the world, experts say 2024 will be the hottest year globally, following a record-breaking 2023.
