Shelters open amid Midwest flooding as rivers keep rising

ELKHART, IND. » Shelters were open to assist people forced from their homes by flooding in Indiana and Michigan on Thursday, as rivers swollen by heavy rain and melting snow continue to rise in the Midwest.

Flood warnings were in effect across a wide swath of the central and southern U. S., from Wisconsin, Illinois and Ohio to Texas and Louisiana. The American Red Cross said it has opened eight shelters in northern Indiana, where crews used boats to help residents evacuate their homes.

Local officials declared a state of emergency in three local cities and asked that traffic be limited to first responders and emergency personnel. Indiana University- South Bend canceled Thursday classes, and residents of a student apartment complex surrounded by water were encouraged to leave.

Record- high f looding along the St. Joseph River closed down a wastewater treatment plant for several hours in South Bend, a city of about 100,000 residents. It later restarted at limited capacity. The National Weather Service reported the river was expected to stay above its major flood stage until Tuesday.

“This remains major flooding and it’s going to be that for a while as water from the whole county continues draining into the river, even though the rains are mostly behind us,” South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg said.

Officials had not estimated the extent of building damage, which is concentrated in low-lying areas.

Other parts of the Midwest were under winter weather advisories on Thursday, with Kansas school districts and universities canceling classes and many state employees being told to stay home.

In Michigan, states of emergency were declared in the Lansing area as officials recommended the evacuations of several neighborhoods. City officials said anyone living in the possible flood areas should temporarily leave their home by midday Thursday.

“While the rain has stopped, we are expecting significant flooding,” Lansing Mayor Andy Schor said.

Flooding also hit nearby Michigan State University , where some roads, parking lots and athletic fields were covered by water from the Red Cedar River that runs through its East Lansing campus. Classes in several buildings have been relocated and the school put up sand-filled barriers in an attempt to curb flooding.

The storm system started pushing heavy rain, snow and ice into the region earlier this week, affecting roads and other low-lying areas. The weather was been blamed for hundreds of car crashes and several deaths, including a crash that killed four people along a slippery interstate in Nebraska.

In central Michigan’s Fair plain Township, a 1-year- old girl was found dead Wednesday in standing water from rain and snowmelt in her backyard. In Oklahoma, authorities said a man, 53, drowned when he drove onto a flooded bridge near Stilwell and was swept off the roadway.