Shocking aerial photographs show devastation caused by historic Mississippi flooding that has killed at least 20 – and officials warn there are more deaths to come
Dozens of towns and villages lay abandoned after another day of historic flooding in Missouri and Illinois
Floodwater swamped entire settlements and forced widespread evacuations in disaster that has killed at least 20
Five foreign soldiers training in US were killed when their car was swept off a rural road and into rampaging water
Crisis could rival 1993 when one of ‘most damaging natural disasters to ever hit US’ killed 50 and left $15bn damage
Swollen rivers and streams were pushed to almost unheard of heights and up to 17million people are under threat
By Ollie Gillman and Ashley Collman
Dailymail.com
31 December 2015
Almost entirely submerged, dozens of towns and villages across Missouri and Illinois lay abandoned after another day of historic flooding.
These shocking photographs show how floodwater has swamped settlements and forced widespread evacuations in a crisis that had claimed more than 20 lives – and officials warn there are more deaths to come.
Among those dead were five foreign soldiers – four from north Africa and one from Malaysia – training at a military base in Missouri. The car they were travelling in was swept off a rural highway on Saturday night by rampaging water.
Up to 17million people and thousands of homes in Illinois and Missouri are under threat from the floods, with swollen rivers and streams pushed to virtually unheard of heights.
Inmates were transferred out of Illinois state prison as it was threatened by flooding, Missouri’s governor activated the National Guard to help divert traffic from submerged roads, and torrential rain caused sewage to flow unfiltered into waterways.
Forecasters warned that the devastation could rival that seen in the area in 1993, when severe flooding left 50 dead and caused $15billion in damage in what officials said was one of the ‘most damaging natural disasters to ever hit the United States’.
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