Floodwaters forced people from their homes in parts of Iowa, the result of weeks of rain, while much of the United States yearned for relief Saturday from another extraordinary heat wave.
Sirens sounded at 2 a.m. in Rock Valley, Iowa, population 4,200, where residents of hundreds of homes were asked to get out because the Rock River could no longer handle the rain that hit the region. The town lacked running water because the wells were unusable.
Mayor Kevin Van Otterloo said a state helicopter was on its way to help, but it was canceled when boats were able to reach the stranded residents.
“We’ve had so much rain here,” he said. “We had 4 inches last night in an hour and a half. Our land simply can’t take it anymore.
Gov. Kim Reynolds declared a disaster for 21 northern Iowa counties, including Sioux County, which includes Rock Valley. In a drone video released by the local sheriff, no streets were visible, just roofs and treetops sticking out of the water.
In South Dakota, Gov. Kristi Noem declared a state of emergency after the southeastern part of the state received heavy rain. The town of Canton, 30 miles southeast of Sioux Falls, received 18 inches of rain.
Several highways were closed, including a key stretch of Interstate 29 south of Sioux Falls, which later reopened. Sioux Falls, the state’s largest city, received more than 7 inches of rain in three days.
“Even if the rain slows down, we must remain vigilant,” Noem said. “The worst flooding along our rivers will occur Monday and Tuesday.”
Elsewhere in the United States, the miserable grip of heat and humidity continued. The National Weather Service said about 15 million people were under a heat warning — the highest alert level — while another 90 million were under a heat advisory. Millions of people across the country have seen their lives disrupted by periods of unusually high temperatures.
Last year, the United States experienced the most heat waves since 1936, experts say. An AP analysis of data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found that excessive heat contributed to more than 2,300 deaths, the highest in 45 years.
Temperatures around 100 degrees Fahrenheit (37.8 degrees Celsius) were forecast for Washington, D.C. and Richmond, Virginia, while Philadelphia; Newark, New Jersey; Columbus, Ohio; and Detroit were gearing up for the peak of the 90s.
Heat-related hospital visits in New York state have recently been 500% higher than on an average day in June, according to the Department of Health.
“We still have this prolonged heat wave in parts of the Ohio Valley and the Northeast,” said Marc Chenard, a weather service meteorologist. “We’re getting a little relief early in the week, at least in the eastern United States, the Northeast, but in general, above-normal temperatures are going to cover much of the country even into next week.”
In southeast Michigan, DTE Energy said 7,400 customers remained without power Saturday afternoon due to storm-related outages, up from 75,000 earlier in the week.
A heat index of around 100 Fahrenheit (37.8 Celsius) didn’t stop Florida couple Judy and Bill Watson from watching the Tigers play the White Sox at Comerica Park in Detroit. Their afternoon visit was a milestone: Bill Watson has now attended games at all 30 MLB ballparks.
“We’re from Florida. You might be asking the wrong people about the heat,” the 71-year-old Bradenton man said with a smile. “We drank water, beer from time to time. We were just happy it didn’t rain.
Nationwide in California, temperatures in the state’s Central Valley are expected to reach 106 degrees Fahrenheit (41.1 degrees Celsius), and the NWS has issued a heat advisory until 8 p.m. Nearly 4,000 homes and businesses in Sacramento lost power for less than an hour. in the middle of the day, the Sacramento Bee reported.
In Iowa, power was cut at wastewater treatment plants in Hawarden and Spencer, which have a combined population of 14,000.
Aiden Engelkes said he and his girlfriend grabbed clothes, cats and bottled water and left their flooded first-floor Spencer apartment for a friend’s dry space on the fourth floor. His Chevrolet SUV was under rough water outside, except for a bit of its antenna. Across the street, he said, friends were waiting for help on a roof.
“It’s terrifying,” said Engelkes, 20.
While rain chances were forecast to be low through the middle of next week, the National Weather Service predicted expanded flooding before then in the region as high water moved downstream on several northern rivers. Iowa.
Flooding also closed state highways and county roads in southern Minnesota. Windom, a town of about 4,800, received 1.2 inches of rain on top of previous heavy downpours, and the Des Moines River there experienced a record flood.
“We’re having a hard time keeping up, putting up barricades,” said City Council member Jenny Quaid. “We put up barricades, and then all of a sudden the water rose so much, the barricade went back into the water.”
In New Mexico, warnings of heavy rain and flash flooding prompted authorities to order some evacuations, with shelters set up for displaced residents.
The NWS announced a flash flood emergency Friday night into Saturday morning. Affected areas included the city of Las Vegas, New Mexico, and communities near Albuquerque.
In Ruidoso, a mountain village in New Mexico, full-time residents will be allowed to return Monday after being forced to leave because of wildfires, although daily life will not return to normal.
“You’ll need to bring a week’s worth of food, you’ll need to bring drinking water,” Mayor Lynn Crawford said on Facebook.
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Hanna reported from Topeka, Kansas. AP reporters Julie Walker in New York and Ken Miller in Oklahoma City contributed.
ABC News
