Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: WEDNESDAY, July 14, 1993 TAG: 9307140350
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL PAGE: A-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
"This disaster is getting worse by the hour," said Illinois Gov. Jim Edgar.
President Clinton said he would visit the region today.
Clinton told reporters in Hawaii he had had several discussions with White House officials working on the disaster relief package. "Frankly, whatever we do, we're going to have to leave open the option to go back for more," he said. "Those folks need some help. It's very, very bad."
The Federal Emergency Management Agency announced that President Clinton had declared 222 Midwest counties and the city of St. Louis federal disaster areas.
About 6,500 National Guardsmen were on duty in Iowa, Illinois and Missouri, where more than 30,000 people have been flooded out of their homes.
Heavy rain fell Tuesday in already-saturated parts of Iowa, Kansas and Nebraska. Wood River, Neb., got 3.3 inches of rain and an inch fell in just six minutes at Papillion, just south of Omaha, the National Weather Service said.
With more rain forecast, the entire state of Iowa was covered by a flash flood watch Tuesday night.
The extra rain was enough to make streams rise again in central Iowa, where flooding had begun to recede after Sunday's record levels, threatening efforts to restore drinking water to more than 250,000 people around Des Moines.
"This is an extremely dangerous situation," the National Weather Service warned.
"Mother Nature did not deal us a very favorable hand today," West Des Moines Mayor Dino Rodish said. "We've got a critical situation."
Des Moines officials released preliminary damage estimates, saying the city alone had suffered $253 million worth. That included $30 million to homes, $100 million to businesses, $75 million for levee repair and construction and $20 million to repair the water plant.
Until drinking water is restored, the Corps of Engineers and National Guard have set a target of providing 2.5 million gallons of water per day to the city.
The flooding was linked to at least 21 deaths, 13 in Missouri. The Red Cross said more than 13,600 homes were damaged or destroyed in Minnesota, Wisconsin, South Dakota, Nebraska, Iowa, Kansas, Missouri and Illinois.
by CNB