Storms slammed the rain-soaked United States Midwest and hundreds of thousands of people in the region were without power after their homes were battered by lashing winds and flooding rains.
Tornado warnings were issued on Saturday afternoon for parts of central and south-east Ohio. Downed trees and power lines were reported in the southern part of the state, said National Weather Service meteorologist Andy Hatzos.
Powerful storms rolling through the upper Midwest during most of the past week caused disastrous floods from south-eastern Minnesota to Ohio that were blamed for at least 18 deaths.
In southern Michigan, the skies were clearing on Saturday but more than 100 000 customers were without power, utilities said. The National Weather Service confirmed multiple tornadoes touched down on Friday in areas north and west of Detroit.
Damage in Fenton, Michigan, was extensive, mayor Sue Osborn said on Saturday. ”I have seen houses that have trees go right through them,” she said. Only residents were being allowed into the city, she said.
About 73 000 ComEd customers in northern Illinois remained without power on Saturday, ComEd spokesperson Judy Rader said. Power to nearly 600 000 customers had been restored since Thursday’s storm, but it could take days to restore power to all customers, officials said.
The storms in Illinois were responsible for at least one death, a man struck by a wind-toppled tree, officials said. In addition, an autopsy was planned on a man found lying in more than 60cm of water in his basement, officials said.
Rain had mostly stopped falling on Saturday in northern Illinois as a line of storms moved eastward and southward, and the flood waters that had risen steadily slowed to a creep or began to drop in some areas. Flood warnings remained in effect in 14 counties.
”There’s so much flooding continuing from the rain and run-off from two days ago,” said Mark Ratzer, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service. ”That’s going to take a while to recede.”
Federal Emergency Management Agency (Fema) administrator R David Paulison surveyed damage on Friday in Rushford, Minnesota, which was especially hard hit by this week’s flooding. Mayor Les Ladewig said about half of Rushford’s 760 homes were damaged, including 248 that were destroyed and 91 with serious damage.
About 1 500 homes were damaged around Minnesota. Paulison said Fema recovery centres should be running early next week in the three counties where President George Bush declared disasters on Thursday.
Paulison also visited Wisconsin, where flooding destroyed 44 homes and damaged more than 1 400, most of them in the south-western part of the state.
Wildfire evacuation
Meanwhile, reports Keith Ridler, a mandatory evacuation was ordered for residents of more than 1 000 homes south of Ketchum, Idaho, where a massive wildfire raged and high winds grounded firefighting air tankers.
After three days of relative calm, the 101-square-kilometre fire was 38% contained, but embers blew ahead of the blaze and increased the threat of spot fires, fire spokesperson Bob Beanblossom said on Saturday.
”At this point in the mandatory evacuation, we’re giving people the opportunity to get out during the daylight and to keep the highways clear for emergency response vehicles,” said Kim Rogers, public information officer with the city of Ketchum.
Another 100 homes remained under a mandatory evacuation order from last weekend, including some worth millions of dollars in the resort area of central Idaho. A shelter was set up at a former high school in the town of Hailey, said Dick Rush, CEO of the American Red Cross for Idaho.
No structures had been reported lost to the lightning-sparked blaze, although winds were gusting to 40km/h, Beanblossom said.
In California, a seven-week-old wildfire in the Santa Barbara county wilderness showed bursts of life Saturday despite firefighters’ significant progress.
The blaze was 83% contained on Saturday evening after burning 96 911ha, or about 969 square kilometres, of steep back country. — Sapa-AP
Associated Press writers Dan Strumpf in Chicago; John Seewer in Ottawa, Ohio; Joshua Freed in Rushford, Minnesota; Mike Wilson in Des Moines, Iowa; Scott Bauer in Madison, Wisconsin; Jim Irwin in Detroit; and Jim Salter in St Louis contributed to this report