Homes washed away in US
2008-06-10 11:32
Ryan J Foley
Wisconsin - An embankment along a man-made lake gave way under severe flooding on Monday, unleashing a powerful current that ripped several homes off their foundations and down the Wisconsin River.
Floodwaters threatened dams across the Midwest, and military crews joined desperate sandbagging operations to hold back Indiana streams surging toward record levels. Stormy weekend weather was blamed for 10 deaths, most in the Midwest.
While the Midwest struggled with water, the East battled heat. Heat advisories were posted on Monday from the Carolinas to Connecticut, with temperatures topping 37.78 Celsius from Georgia to Virginia. New York City recorded a high of 37.22 Celsius.
The US Army Corps of Engineers said on Monday it would close a 402km stretch of the Mississippi River as soon as Thursday because of flooding, bringing barge traffic to a halt.
The closure could last up to two weeks, corps spokesperson Ron Fournier said.
In Wisconsin, an embankment forming the side of the man-made Lake Delton failed, and the water poured out into the nearby Wisconsin River, destroying five homes.
Disaster areas
A couple thousand people in Columbia County about 49km north of Madison were urged to evacuate below the Wyocena and Pardeeville dams, said Pat Beghin, a spokesperson for the county's emergency management.
By Monday morning, flooding at eight sites in central and southern Indiana had eclipsed levels set in the deluge of March 1913, which had been considered Indiana's greatest flood in modern times, said Scott Morlock, a hydrologist with the US Geological Survey in Indiana.
President George W Bush has declared a major disaster in 29 Indiana counties. Iowa Gov Chet Culver said nearly a third of his state's 99 counties need federal help.
Wisconsin Gov Jim Doyle had declared 30 counties in a state of emergency by noon on Monday.
Along the East Coast, people sweltered through the heatwave.
In the fifth inning of the Kansas City Royals-Yankees game in New York, fans cheered loudly when a cloud moved in front of the sun, then booed moments later when the sun returned.
New York City opened 300 cooling centres on Monday, said Office of Emergency Management spokesperson Chris Gilbri
de.
- AP