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MEXICO CITY (AP) — Flooding forced residents from their homes in parts of Iowa due to weeks of rain, while much of the U.S. was eager Saturday for relief from another unusual heat wave.
At 2 a.m. in Rock Valley, Iowa, population 4,200, sirens rang and hundreds of residents were asked to leave because the Rock River could no longer absorb the rain that had hit the area. The city lacked running water because wells were out of service.
Mayor Kevin Van Outloo said a state helicopter was on its way to help, but operations were suspended after some boats were able to reach stranded residents.
“It’s raining really hard,” he declared. “We gained 4 inches (10 centimeters) in an hour and a half last night. Our soil can’t absorb any more.”
Gov. Kim Reynolds declared a state of disaster for 21 counties, including Sioux County, where Rock Valley is located. In drone video released by local police, streets were not visible; only rooftops and treetops were visible above the water.
Hot and humid weather continues in other parts of the United States. The National Weather Service said that about 15 million people received heat alerts (the highest level of alerts) and another 90 million received heat warnings. The abnormally high temperatures in recent days have changed the lives of millions of residents across the country.
According to experts, last year the United States experienced the most heat waves since 1936. An Associated Press analysis of data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found that the heat killed more than 2,300 people in the country, the highest number in 45 years of record keeping.
Temperatures in Washington, D.C., and Richmond, Virginia, are expected to approach 37.8°C (100°F), while Philadelphia; Newark, New Jersey; Columbus, Ohio; and Detroit are preparing to reach 90°F (32°C).
According to the Department of Health, the number of hospital visits due to heat waves in New York State has recently increased by 500% compared to the average day in June.
“We are still facing a continued heat wave across the Ohio Valley and parts of the Northeast,” said meteorologist Mark Chenard. “We will see some relief as the week begins, at least in the eastern and northeastern United States, but even into next week, temperatures will remain generally above normal across much of the country.”
In southeast Michigan, 7,400 customers were still without power Saturday afternoon due to outages caused by the storm, DTE Energy said, down from 75,000 a few days earlier.
Wind chills of around 100°F (37.8°C) didn’t stop Florida couple Judy and Bill Watson from heading to Detroit’s Comerica Park to watch the Tigers take on the White Sox. His afternoon visit marked a milestone: Bill Watson has now attended games at all of the parks in Major League Baseball.
“We’re from Florida. Maybe you interviewed the wrong people about the heat,” the 71-year-old Bradenton native said with a laugh. “We had water or beer once in a while. We were just glad the game wasn’t rained out.”
Across California, temperatures were expected to reach 106°F (41.1°C) in the Central Valley, and the National Weather Service issued a heat advisory until 8 p.m. Nearly 4,000 homes and businesses in Sacramento lost power in less than an hour at noon, according to the Sacramento Bee.
Flooding closed several highways in southeastern South Dakota and northwestern Iowa, including a critical section of Interstate 29 south of Sioux Falls, which has since reopened. Sioux Falls, the state’s largest city, received more than 7 inches (17.7 centimeters) of rain in three days.
In Iowa, several wastewater treatment plants lost power in the towns of Hawarden and Spencer, which have a total of 14,000 residents.
Aiden Engelkes said he and his girlfriend packed clothes, cats and bottled water and left their flooded first-floor apartment to head to a dry space on the fourth floor with friends. His Chevrolet truck was underwater except for a small portion of its antenna. Across the street, he said, some of his friends were hiding on a rooftop awaiting rescue.
“It’s horrible,” Engelkes, 20, said.
Although some light rain is expected through the middle of next week, the National Weather Service predicts more flooding in the region as water flows downstream along several rivers in northern Iowa.
Flooding also closed state and rural roads in southern Minnesota. The town of Windom, a city of about 4,800 people, received an additional 1.25 inches (3.2 centimeters) of rain in earlier downpours, and the Des Moines River reached record levels.
“We were trying to keep up with them, putting up barricades,” said City Council member Jenny Quaid. “We put up barricades and all of a sudden the water rises so much that the barricades get flooded again.”
In New Mexico, heavy rains and flash flood warnings prompted authorities to order some mandatory evacuations and set up shelters for displaced residents.
The National Weather Service declared a flash flood emergency from Friday night into early Saturday morning. Areas affected include the city of Las Vegas, New Mexico; and communities near Albuquerque.
In the New Mexico mountain town of Ruidoso, full-time residents forced to evacuate due to wildfires will return on Monday, but daily life will not return to normal.
“They’re going to have to carry a week’s worth of food, they’re going to have to carry drinking water,” Mayor Lynn Crawford said on Facebook.
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