Killer floods hit US
Updated on 22 March 2008
Violent storms and floods have killed 16 people in the US, according to reports.
Swollen rivers have flooded central states and threatened to engulf a major interstate highway in Missouri, where a state of emergency has been declared.
The deaths were blamed on victims being swept away by rising water and on road traffic accidents caused by the conditions.
Extreme weather warnings were in force across 15 states as a storm bore down on the Midwest, causing heavy snow and delaying flights.
Floods have left houses under water from Texas north to Ohio after heavy rain.
In the north, a heavy snowstorm was hitting the upper Midwest, causing chaos from North Dakota southeast to Indiana and Ohio.
Experts say the bad weather could rival and in some places top the record-breaking floods that hit the US in 1982.
Parts of Missouri have received more than ten inches of rain this week while Southern Wisconsin and northern Illinois were braced for up to 12 inches of snow over the weekend.
Flights at Chicago's O'Hare International Airport have been subject to lengthy delays.
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