Deadly storms swamp Midwest and head east

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Multimillion-dollar cleanup bill looms as 13 die in severe weather

updated 1 hour, 11 minutes ago

CINCINNATI - Storms that dumped as much of a foot of rain on the Midwest took aim at the Ohio Valley and Northeast on Thursday, leaving behind submerged roads, swamped homes and more than a dozen deaths.

Flooding was reported Wednesday in parts of Arkansas, southern Illinois, southern Indiana and southwestern Ohio, and schools were closed in western Kentucky because of flooded roads.

The rain stopped falling late Wednesday as the storms moved east, targeting the Ohio Valley and spreading snow over northern New England. A parallel band of heavy rain stretched from Alabama and Georgia to the Mid-Atlantic.

Days of rain turned the Midwest into a soggy mess, flooding roads, stranding motorists and displacing residents — with a cleanup bill likely to run in the millions.

Major disaster declared

President Bush declared a major disaster in Missouri on Wednesday night and ordered federal aid to supplement state and local recovery efforts in areas affected by flooding. Seventy counties and the city of St. Louis also are eligible for federal funding for emergency protective measures.

In Arkansas, Gov. Mike Beebe on also declared 26 counties disaster areas due to the damage from this week's heavy rains and floods.

Much of Ohio was under a flood warning Thursday, with some areas cautioned to watch for flash floods. Most of southwest Ohio had received more than 4 inches of rain, and officials in Butler County declared a state of emergency because of the rising waters.

Flooding along the Scioto River in Pickaway, Ross and Pike counties was expected to be the worst since January 2005. The river near Circleville was expected to remain over the 14-foot flood stage through Sunday, and Pickaway County authorities asked the Red Cross to prepare shelters for possible flood victims.

In Findlay in northwest Ohio, authorities closed off streets Wednesday after the Blanchard River had once again gone over the 11-foot flood level — the 10th time it has done so in the last 15 months. The National Weather Service predicted the river would crest Thursday afternoon at 12.3 feet.

"It is going to take some time to dry out with this type of rain put down on saturated ground," said Beverly Poole, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service office in Paducah, Ky. "It's going to take a few days for the rivers and the creeks to recover."

Rising waters

The Ohio River at Cincinnati was expected to rise about 2 feet above flood stage by Friday. In nearby Whitewater Township, rescue workers with boats helped 16 people to safety and urged 40 to 45 more families to leave their homes.

Judy Booth, who's lived in a low-lying area of the township for 11 years, said Wednesday was the first time she's had to flee from flooding.

"You don't have no choice, you've got to go," said Booth, who was helped by fire-rescue squads who brought an inflatable boat to her water-surrounded home.

Retired truck driver George Slayton, 65, said he just wasn't sure how much water from the Black River flowed into his home in Piedmont, Mo. He only had time to grab some medication and a change of clothes.

"I believe in God and everything, but he does things sometimes that make you wonder," said Slayton, who found shelter at a church and slept on a padded pew.

Man rescued from tree

Crews rescued a man clinging to a tree in the Ohio River after his truck was swept away at a boat ramp near Evansville, Ind. He showed signs of hypothermia and could not speak clearly.

"It's hard for anybody to say how long he could have survived there," Knight Township Fire Chief Chris Wathen said. "But I do think it was fair to say he was within minutes of losing his life."

At least 13 deaths have been linked to the weather over the past few days, and three people were missing.

Five deaths were blamed to the flooding in Missouri, five people were killed in a highway wreck in heavy rain in Kentucky and a 65-year-old Ohio woman appeared to have drowned while checking on a sump pump in her home. In southern Illinois, two bodies were found hours after floodwaters swept a pickup truck off a rural road.

Searches were under way in Texas for a teenager washed down a drainage pipe, and two people were missing in Arkansas after their vehicles were swept away by rushing water.

In the northern Cincinnati suburb of Sharonville, water as high as 4 feet stood outside some businesses. Police contacted owners and warned them not to open for the day.

"The biggest problem has been people driving into floodwater," said Frank Young, emergency management director in Warren County, Ohio. "There are a lot of stupid people. When that sign says, `Road closed, high water,' that's what it means."

The town of Fenton, Mo., put out a call asking volunteers to help put down sandbags against the floodwaters Thursday. Gov. Matt Blunt said state workers was checking on nursing homes and hospitals, mobilizing rescues, opening shelters, closing highways and working to ensure safe drinking water.

Disaster areas in Arkansas

The governor's office said Thursday that more counties are likely to be added to the list, considering the flood waters were still rising in places.

The disaster declaration is to help state and local emergency officials coordinate more easily. The state Emergency Management Department has begun an attempt to secure federal aid.

The counties declared by Beebe are: Baxter, Benton, Boone, Carroll, Clay, Crawford, Franklin, Fulton, Greene, Hot Spring, Independence, Izard, Jackson, Johnson, Lawrence, Logan, Madison, Marion, Nevada, Newton, Randolph, Scott, Searcy, Sharp, Stone and Washington counties.

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That would definitely suck.