Flooding Rivers Imperil the Heartland

The Heartland is under water, with today's expected rain and snow adding to the woes of already-flooded parts of the Midwest, CNN reports. Rising river waters have caused four deaths, forced evacuations in Illinois, and are threatening Missouri, Iowa, Indiana, North Dakota, Mississippi, and Michigan as well. The Mississippi River is expected to peak at more than 11 feet higher than flood stage in Grafton, Ill., this week, and flood watches have been extended for communities along that river's edge as far south as Louisiana. (Things won't get as bad as they did in 2011, however.)

"I've got water coming up through cracks in the floor, so I have about 3,000 gallons an hour of pumps running down the basement keeping water out, and that seems to be keeping it down to about an inch," says one Grafton resident who opted not to evacuate. Other rivers, like the Red River in North Dakota, are also causing problems, and if more rain spurs more snowmelt, things could get uglier. Things already sound pretty miserable for the owner of an Illinois Christmas tree farm, per WQAD. Some 25% of his trees are under water thanks to Rock River flooding; in July, however, 900 trees died due to drought. (More flooding stories.)