The storms and flooding in Missouri and Illinois were the latest in a succession of severe weather events across the country that have led to at least 43 deaths in less than a week.
Rivers in the nation's heartland are rising yet again, and with heavy rain in the forecast, parts of Iowa, Missouri and Illinois are bracing for another round of flooding.
Communities along the swollen Mississippi River and other rain-engorged waterways are waging feverish bids to hold back floodwaters that may soon approach record levels.
Several states are bracing for a second storm today on the heels of a powerful spring storm that unleashed tornadoes and heaped snow and ice on the Midwest. The first storm killed three people.