Deadly floods continue to destroy Midwest towns as 50 million remain under heat warnings

Several midwest states remain underwater on Monday as 50 million people continue to face extreme heat warnings across the US.

Heavy rainfall triggered deadly flooding in South Dakota, Iowa and Minnesota over the weekend. While many places have already seen the worst of the flooding, areas downstream of the James, Vermillion, and Little Sioux rivers will likely peak later this week, the National Weather Service (NWS) said.

Some areas of South Dakota may also see tornadoes, hail and continued flooding on Tuesday as severe thunderstorms hit, the NWS said. Thursday could also bring another surge of flooding, NWS forecasters said.

One person has already died in South Dakota from the floods, Governor Kristi Noem told reporters Sunday. She declined to provide more information on the death, citing the family’s privacy concerns.

Flooding has also destroyed businesses, healthcare facilities and homes in Iowa, said Governor Kim Reynolds, who declared a state of emergency in 21 counties.

“Businesses are shuttered. Main streets have been impacted,” Reynolds said. “Hospitals, nursing homes and other care facilities were evacuated. Cities are without power, and some are without drinkable water.”

Some 4,000 people were evacuated from Rock Valley, Iowa as flooding tore through the community Sunday. Officials worked to perform water rescues throughout the day.

“Thirteen team members with multiple rescue boats have rescued many people and animals stranded in the floodwaters,” Sioux City Fire Rescue officials said of the Rock Valley rescues.

Drone footage posted by the Woodbury County, Iowa Sheriff’s Office on Sunday showed several buildings, including homes, submerged in the flood waters with only their roofs visible in the town of Correctionville. Several powerlines and roads were also underwater, the footage showed.

In Sioux City, Iowa a train bridge collapsed into the swollen Big Sioux River late Sunday. The collapsed bridge is beginning to shift toward another now-closed commuter bridge downstream, local outlet KTIV4 reports.

The Big Sioux River is forecasted to break a record of 42.2 feet by Monday afternoon, Noem said.

Meanwhile, Minnesota flooding left “entire communities under feet of water,” Governor Tim Walz said on Saturday.

As catastrophic floods continue, more than 50 million people in the central US are under heat alerts as of Monday.

These alerts come after much of the central and eastern US was under a heat dome, an oppressive atmospheric event that traps heat and causes extreme heat waves.

As the climate crisis drives more extreme and frequent heatwaves in the US and around the world, experts say 2024 will likely be the hottest year on record at a global level following the record-setting 2023.