Fatal Floods in Midwest, Wicked Heat in East

June 9, 2008 — -- The torrential rains that have flooded large parts of the Midwest caused a Wisconsin dam to break Monday, sweeping away homes in dramatic, destructive fashion.

No one was killed or injured in the collapse, but the surging waters created a new tributary to the Wisconsin River and raised concerns about debris moving through the current, according to the Columbia County Sheriff's Office.

The area is just one part of the Midwest dealing with continued wet weather that, over the weekend, forced evacuations, spawned tornadoes and literally left residents knee-deep in water.

Meanwhile, as temperatures soared in the East, so did demand for electricity by millions of people who turned up the air conditioning. The power demand hit the highest level yet this year in many states along the Atlantic seaboard.

In New York state, demand for electricity hit a record for the year and even beat last year's biggest day set in August, but was short of the record set Aug. 2, 2006, during that year's heat wave.

In New England and 13 states in the Midwest and Mid-Atlantic region, it was a similar story. Today marked the highest energy use for the year, but it wasn't a record.

Eight deaths were attributed to wicked wet weather in the Midwest, and three states were forced to declare disaster areas. Wisconsin Gov. Jim Doyle asked for emergency aid for 29 counties, giving many residents a harsh reminder of the flash-flooding last August, from which many are still recovering.

The massive amount of water pushed entire houses into highways in Wisconsin, and soldiers were deployed to assist evacuations in rural Vernon County, where 24 people were removed.

In Indiana, one man drowned in his vehicle about 50 miles south of Indianapolis, and late Sunday, President George W. Bush declared a major disaster in 29 Indiana counties. Iowa Gov. Chet Culver said nearly a third of his state's 99 counties needed federal aid.

Flooding is expected to continue to be a problem for the region throughout the week, as up to 10 inches of rain drains into already saturated and swollen rivers.

"This thing came on fast with such a radical deluge of water that people were describing going from a feeling of security to waist-deep water in a matter of 15 or 20 minutes," said Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels.

Indiana residents saw as much as 11 inches of rain sweep through the state on Saturday, and the National Weather Service forecast a new system which could drench the areas with anywhere from one to three inches of rain by late today.

In some areas, torrential rain gulped entire neighborhoods.

"I have lived in this house for three years. My kids and I ... and I am not ready for this," said one Indiana resident whose home was damaged.