Missouri, Gov. Jay Nixon activated the state National Guard on Tuesday as flooding has led to the deaths of 13 people in the state so far.
Nixon, who traveled to Perryville, 80 miles south of St. Louis, to help coordinate government efforts to minimize flooding, said the guard would provide security in evacuated areas and direct traffic diverted by road closures.
"River levels in some areas are expected to match or exceed records set in '93," Nixon said.
Several Missouri towns were evacuating and some had already flooded. The Mississippi, Missouri and Meramec rivers all were at or near flood stage.
The worst flooding in some areas was not expected until Thursday.
Table Rock Dam experienced record-breaking flooding, according to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.
The agency reported 72,000 cubic feet of water per second is being released from the dam, which surpasses the previous record of 69,000 cubic feet of water, the Springfield News-Leader was reporting.
In Fort Leonard Wood, Mo., five international soldiers who were assigned there for training drowned in flood waters on Sunday and a search was expected to start soon for a fifth drowning victim, the Army Times reported. The identities of the soldiers were not immediately released pending notification of next of kin, the Times said.
The massive weather system that has devastated parts of the South and Midwest also drove ice, snow, heavy rains – and headaches – into the Upper Midwest and Northeast.
Winter weather slowed traffic to a crawl in parts of New York, New England and elsewhere. Missouri, Oklahoma and Texas were among states battling flooding from days of heavy rain.
More than 1,200 flights were canceled across the nation by 4:30 p.m. ET, according to the FlightAware tracking website. More than 240 flights were canceled in and out of Chicago's O'Hare airport. Travelers leaving from airports in Toronto, Chicago, Boston, Atlanta, Denver and Dallas experienced long delays. Officials at Indianapolis Airport broke out cots and snacks as hundreds of would-be passengers waited for passage on canceled or delayed flights.
"Looking on the bright side! Connect to our free WiFi on your phone, tablet, or laptop," the airport tweeted.
"It was a mess," airport spokesman Jeff Dutton told The Indianapolis Star. "Even though the weather wasn't particularly bad here, they had a lot of problems in Chicago, and that affects everywhere else."
