OMAHA, Nebraska: At least two people died in the severe weather that wreaked havoc across the U.S., with torrential rains and flooding in the Upper Midwest and powerful storms in the Northeast.
Parts of the Northeast were hit by deadly storms midweek off spun tornadoes, leaving some 250,000 customers in the region without power.
The National Weather Service confirmed that a tornado ripped through Rhode Island and Massachusetts this week and in western Pennsylvania. The storms are believed to have spun off at least three tornadoes. High winds of up to 70 mph (113 kph) brought down power lines and trees and damaged some homes and other structures in the area. No injuries were reported.
The storms came after widespread flooding in parts of the Midwest after days of torrential rains. A 52-year-old man drowned in his Iowa basement after the foundation collapsed and debris pinned him down. Flooding caused two other deaths – one in Iowa and one in South Dakota – caused by driving near flooded areas.
In southern Minnesota, heavy rains over days engorged the Blue Earth River, sending water surging around the Rapidan Dam. Large chunks of the riverbank were washed away by the rushing water, which carried a shipping container with it as it toppled utility poles and wrecked a substation.
A home near the river banks saw the ground gradually erode from underneath it until it collapsed into the river early in the week.
In northwest Iowa, neighborhoods in Sioux City and smaller towns have been ravaged by floodwaters. Governor Kim Reynolds toured the damage with federal officials.
Some communities are still dealing with failing water and sewer systems as residents work to clean up debris. In Rock Valley, officials were tagging homes with color-coded signs to indicate whether they were safe to enter.
Southeastern South Dakota was hit with torrential floods this week that devastated the lake community of McCook in North Sioux City, collapsing streets, felling utility poles and trees, and washing several homes off their foundations.
In northeastern Nebraska, South Sioux City, and other nearby towns along the swollen Missouri River, low-lying riverfront roads, homes, and cropland were flooded.