Rivers rose rapidly across much of the Midwest and the South on Saturday, prompting water rescues, evacuation orders and road closures as a relentless storm dumped rain on the region.
More than a third of those who became ill required hospitalization, suffering symptoms ranging from vomiting to loss of consciousness, seizures and hallucinations.
How the person became infected is unknown, but Missouri health officials said they are trying to pinpoint the source.
The increased flooding, which was happening from Texas to Ohio, came after days of heavy rains and tornadoes that killed at least 16 people, including a 5-year-old in Arkansas and a firefighter in Missouri. Forecasters warned of more flooding, saying that some rivers were not expected to crest until Tuesday or Wednesday.
“We’ll be dealing with the river flooding the next couple days, even the next couple weeks in some places,” said Colby Pope, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Little Rock, Ark.
Emergency workers reported water rescues in Arkansas, Kentucky, Missouri and Texas. Officialsissued evacuation orders for two small Kentucky towns, Butler and Falmouth, along the Licking River, and for the city of Shelbyville, Ind., along the Big Blue and Little Blue Rivers. Residents along the Kentucky River have also been evacuated.
On Saturday, the National Weather Service issued flash flood emergencies for Memphis and the Little Rock area. A tornado touched down near the city of Florence, Ala., the agency said. And flooding and flash flood warnings were in place for a region stretching from Louisiana to Indiana, with up to 15 inches of rain having fallen in the worst hit areas.
Another two to four inches of rain was expected to fall in some places on Sunday.
The storm has killed people across four states, including a 9-year-old boy who was swept away by floodwaters in Frankfort, Ky., and Chevy Gall, a firefighter with the Beaufort-Leslie Fire Protection District in Missouri, who died in a crash while driving to help rescue people from the floods. At least nine weather-related deaths have been reported in Tennessee.
Forecast risk of severe storms for Saturday RiskSome
Moderate
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5mpg 89vip slotsPrecipitation intensity
Very lightHeavyExtreme Source: National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration via Iowa State University. Note: All times are Central. By William B. DavisWe are having trouble retrieving the article content.
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