‘It’s going to get ugly’: Midwest calls in national guard as flood disaster unfolds

Saturday, January 2, 2016
By Paul Martin

Sixteen states issue flood warnings as waters blamed for 22 deaths in Illinois, while Missouri governor expects record-breaking disaster

Alan Yuhas
Guardian.com
Saturday 2 January 2016

Floods have submerged towns, roads, casinos and shopping malls around the south and midwest for more than three days, prompting governors in Illinois and Iowa to call in the national guard.

Sixteen states issued flood warnings covering some eight million people. By Saturday floodwaters had begun to subside in many areas, reopening several important highways, after topping levees in the region late on Friday.

But swollen rivers have yet to crest in southern states, alarming governors in Tennessee, Louisiana and Mississippi. At Dardanelle, Arkansas, the National Weather Service recorded the Arkansas river at 41ft, nine feet above flood stage.

Missouri governor Jay Nixon said the overflow off the Mississippi would overtake the records set by “the great flood of 1993”, which killed 50 people, broke hundreds of levees and caused thousands to flee their homes.

In Illinois, governor Bruce Rauner ordered troops into action in the south of the state and declared 12 counties disaster zones. He began touring the waterlogged towns on Friday. Several thousand were evacuated from rural towns such as Pontoon Beach and Alton; 11 levees around the region have failed since flooding began last week. State authorities have blamed the flooding for 22 deaths and four missing people.

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