1 dead in South Dakota after rivers flood in Midwest

Flood warnings remained in effect for parts of the Midwest on Sunday after days of heavy rain caused severe flooding that left at least one person dead in South Dakota and required evacuations and water rescues across the region.

Flood warnings were in effect for rivers in parts of Illinois, Iowa, Minnesota, Nebraska, South Dakota and Wisconsin. A flood warning means that flooding is imminent or has already occurred.

In South Dakota, torrential rains fell for three days in central and eastern parts of the state. One person died as a result of the severe weather, Gov. Kristi Noem said at a news conference on Sunday. She did not provide details about the person or the circumstances of the death. Several rivers in the state broke water level records, and the Big Sioux River is expected to reach a record 42.2 feet on Monday afternoon, Ms. Noem said.

Authorities called for voluntary evacuations in Dakota Dunes, a community of about 4,000 people near the riverbank, and planned to close a section of Interstate 29 on Sunday evening to build a levee across the highway, she added. “This is probably the first time we’ve seen rainfall like this so quickly,” Gov. Noem said.

In Iowa, rivers have risen several meters higher than during the 1993 flood that killed 50 people in the Midwest, according to state governor Kim Reynolds. By Sunday, she had declared a state of emergency for more than 20 counties and described the predicted damage as “staggering” at a press conference.

On Saturday alone, rescue workers carried out 250 water rescues, more than 1,000 people were brought to safety and more than 1,900 buildings were damaged and hundreds destroyed, Reynolds said on Sunday.

Some towns were without electricity, others had no drinking water. Hospitals and nursing homes were evacuated and many businesses closed.

“The devastation is great and widespread,” she added. “It’s not over yet.”

Officials in Iowa warned that heavier rain was expected, especially in the eastern part of the state.

“We have very severe flooding right now, and it’s not going to stop,” said John Benson, director of the Iowa Department of Homeland Security and Emergency Management.

Flooding in southern Minnesota has left “entire communities under meters of water,” Governor Tim Walz said in a press release on Saturday.

Mr. Walz declared a peacetime emergency and authorized the National Guard to assist local emergency responders. Between 14 and 18 inches of rain fell in the town of Waterville, he said.

Flooding in the Midwest has wreaked havoc in Rock Valley, Iowa, where the Rock River reached record levels early Saturday morning, prompting city officials to issue emergency evacuation orders for many of the city’s 4,000 residents. The city has no clean water because its wells have been contaminated by the floodwaters, local authorities said on social media.

The Sioux City Fire Department, which helped evacuate people from Rock Valley, said on social media that many people and animals stranded in the city’s floodwaters had been rescued by rescue teams using boats.

In neighboring Nebraska, Governor Jim Pillen said in a statement that he had authorized the deployment of a military helicopter to assist in search and rescue operations.

About 15 miles southwest of Rock Valley, parts of Hawarden, Iowa, were also evacuated, city officials said on social media. Hawarden has a population of about 2,000.

In Sioux Falls, South Dakota, rescue workers rescued nine people from the floods, Regan Smith, the city’s emergency management manager, said at a press conference on Saturday.