Floodwater begins receding in Ohio, but more storms pound Midwest

CHICAGO — Ferocious thunderstorms, heat and humidity added to the Midwest's flooding misery Friday as thousands of people returned to damaged homes, many without electricity to run fans or pumps.

Chicago was smacked by a sudden thunderstorm with 70 mph wind Thursday evening, tearing down huge trees and damaging buildings. In the suburbs, part of an industrial facility's roof collapsed, injuring 40 people, and a tornado hit struck western Michigan, downing about 700 trees in Montcalm County.

"Out of nowhere, the sky just went black," said Kimber Hall, 20, who was riding her bike along Chicago's Lake Michigan shore when the storm hit. "Sheets of rain. Lightning hit a tree about 25 feet away from me. A branch hit me in the face."

Friday morning, another band of thunderstorms was drenching communities from Missouri, through Iowa and into Illinois and Wisconsin.

Most of southern Iowa was under a flash flood watch through evening as as much as 8 inches of rain fell, the National Weather Service said. In Ottumwa, residents were asked to conserve water because the rain had backed up sewers and flooded a pump room at the water plant. The tap water wasn't contaminated yet, but the city's 25,000 residents were advised to boil it.

Flooding slowed drivers on northern Indiana's busy Interstate 80/94, where officials shut down a 3-mile stretch of the eastbound lands and some of the westbound lanes. Several cities were redirecting traffic because of flooded streets.

In Illinois, forecasters warned residents in the northern part of the state to prepare for flooding as another 2 inches of rain was expected Friday afternoon and evening.

"That's what we're worried about right now," said weather service meteorologist Nathan Marsili. "It could turn out to be a pretty bad flooding situation for the area."

Nearly a week of powerful storms, heavy rain and devastating flooding across the upper Midwest has damaged hundreds of homes and has been blamed for at least 16 deaths.

The powerful storms that hit Illinois blew over a tree in rural Knox County, killing one man on Thursday. Flooding in Ohio was blamed for the death of another Thursday, a 92-year-old man who drowned trying to get to safety after his car became trapped in floodwater near Findlay.