Deadly US Midwest floods break records, devastate families

At least 20 have been killed in relation to the inclement weather and floods

Floodwater from the Bourbeuse River surrounds businesses in Union, Missouri on December 29, 2015. (Jeff Roberson/AP)

Deadly floods in the Midwestern United States have broken records and devastated hundreds of families forced from their homes.

At least 20 people have died in relation to torrential storms and floods in Missouri and Illinois, which shut down major highways and inundated hundreds of homes, particularly along Missouri’s Meramac River.

Floodwater levels in Valley Park, a St Louis satellite city, have reached the highest levels in more than three decades at 44.1 feet Wednesday, local newspaper the St Louis Post-Dispatch reported. Valley Park City officials told The Independent on Wednesday that almost 1,000 people were estimated to have been evacuated over the floods.

Missouri Governor Jay Nixon late Tuesday activated the National Guard to assist in safety measures after declaring a state of emergency amid torrential rains the previous weekend.

Gov Jay Nixon the flooding situation in Missouri after consulting with the National Weather Service in Weldon Spring, Missouri on December 29. (governor.mo.gov)

“These citizen soldiers will provide much-needed support to state and local first responders, many of whom have spent the last several days working around the clock responding to record rainfall and flooding,” Governor Nixon said in a press release, adding that the Guard would aid in “providing security in evacuated areas and directing traffic from road closures”.

The recent inclement weather has drawn comparisons by officials including Governor Nixon to “The Great Flood of 1993” that caused $15 million in damages, killed 50 people and displaced thousands in Midwestern state — North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, Kansas, Minnesota, Iowa, Missouri, Wisconsin, and Illinois, the federal National Weather Service (NWS) says.

Floodwater from the Bourbeuse River surrounds a McDonald's restaurant in Union, Missouri on December 29. (Jeff Roberson/AP)

Officials have yet to assess the human and monetary damage of the current floods, with waterways still stretching far beyond their banks and families displaced. Floods have ravaged more than 300 homes in Pacific, another St Louis satellite community, the St Louis Post-Dispatch reported.

The flooding was estimated to affect 13 million Americans living in the Midwest, CNN reported Wednesday.