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Global

Floods plague several U.S. midwestern states


    CHICAGO (Reuters) - Floods that ravaged a broad swathe of the U.S. Midwest from Missouri eastward to the Ohio Valley contributed to deaths of more than a dozen people, according to reports on Thursday.

    U.S. President George W. Bush declared 70 Missouri countiesas disaster areas, and the National Guard was deployed inhard-hit areas of the state after deadly storms that dumped upto a foot (30.5 cm) of rain sent rivers out of their banks.

    Media and official reports across the Midwest region saidmore than a dozen people had died, some swept away by floodwaters, others in traffic accidents blamed on the storms andhigh waters.

    "The worst of the rain is over with," said Rob Miller, ameteorologist with AccuWeather. But he said flood waters willnot peak in some areas until Saturday.

    The Missouri Emergency Management Agency reported dozens ofhomes destroyed or damaged across the state, and widespreadevacuations. It listed five flood-related deaths in the stateand said state roads were closed by high water at more than 200points.

    Forecasters meanwhile greeted the first day of spring withwinter weather warnings, with a new storm expected to dump upto 6 inches (15.2 cm) of snow from southeastern North Dakotathrough southern Wisconsin and northern Illinois, eastward tothe mountains of southwestern Pennsylvania and northern WestVirginia on Friday and Saturday.

    (Reporting by Mike Conlon, editing by Peter Bohan and VickiAllen)