Residents flee homes screaming as devastating floods hit with warnings extended to more areas

Residents have fled their homes screaming as rising waters forced them out with more flood warnings issued.

Kathy Roberts describes the nightmarish scene as she fled her South Dakota home with just her cat and the clothes she was wearing. She told KTIV-TV: "I heard screaming outside and looked outside and I had neighbors that had water rushing into their place and water was slowly rising in my driveway."

"Within eight minutes, I was leaving my house and driving through water that was up over my step rails on my jeep." The destruction in Roberts' neighborhood along McCook Lake in North Sioux City could be seen once the floods subsided, revealing the wreckage including sunken streets, fallen utility poles and trees, along with houses torn from their foundations.

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There was no water, sewer, gas or electrical service in that area, Union County Emergency Management said Tuesday in a Facebook post. Meanwhile, South Dakota's Gov. Kristi Noem advised caution in a message posted on X social platform Tuesday night, urging residents to avoid the disaster-stricken region until conditions were safe.

She added: "We are working on a schedule for families to get their belongings." Noem warned of the lurking dangers: "Until then, downed power lines, sinkholes, and other threats make it too dangerous to go in alone."

A large area spanning from eastern Nebraska and South Dakota to Iowa and Minnesota has been hit with flooding due to heavy rains since last week, while also enduring a severe heat wave. Some areas have seen up to 18 inches (46 centimeters) of rainfall, causing rivers to reach record levels.

Hundreds were rescued, homes were damaged, and at least two people lost their lives after venturing into flooded regions. Adding to the misery, tornado warnings, flash floods, and significant hail were reported on Tuesday night in parts of the Midwest.

The National Weather Service issued multiple tornado warnings for parts of Iowa and Nebraska on Tuesday afternoon and evening. Local TV news meteorologists displayed images of large hail and reported extremely heavy rain.

No immediate damage from tornadoes was reported, and the extent of any hail damage remains uncertain. On Tuesday night, the weather service also extended flood warnings for several rivers in South Dakota, Nebraska, Iowa, and Minnesota.

Earlier on Tuesday, floodwaters breached levees in Iowa, leading to dangerous conditions that necessitated evacuations. The sheriff's office in Monona County, near the Nebraska border, reported that the Little Sioux River had breached levees in various areas.

In neighboring Woodbury County, the sheriff's office shared drone footage on Facebook showing the river overflowing the levee and flooding land in rural Smithland. No immediate injuries were reported.

As new areas were inundated on Tuesday, some communities began the cleanup after floodwaters receded, while others braced for impact, fortifying with sandbags to defend against the swollen rivers. Even typically calm streams transformed into violent torrents, wreaking havoc on residences, infrastructure, and bridges.

South Dakota's state geologist, Tim Cowman, reported that the region's five principal rivers have peaked and are now gradually subsiding. In Sioux City and Woodbury County, Iowa, authorities addressed public grievances about the lack of adequate flood warnings and the unexpected intensity of the deluge.

Sioux City Fire Marshal Mark Aesoph acknowledged at a press briefing on Tuesday that river levels surged beyond forecasts. "Even if we would have known about this two weeks ago, there was nothing we could do at this point.

"We cannot extend the entire length of our levee," declared Sioux City Fire Marshal Mark Aesoph. The Big Sioux River has breached its levee, leading Aesoph to estimate that hundreds of houses have likely sustained water damage internally.