Storms and flooding across the United States' upper Midwest have left 25 people dead and hundreds of homes under water, media reports said.
The National Weather Service had reported flooding or warned of flooding in the states of Nebraska, Iowa, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana and Ohio.
Ohio Governor Ted Strickland was one of several governors in the region to declare a state of emergency. In Findlay, Ohio broadcast images Thursday showed streets filled with water and residents being rescued from their homes in small boats.
Later in the day the storm ripped through Chicago, Illinois, sparking tornado warnings, downing trees and leaving more than 180,000 people without electricity in the city and its surroundings, the Chicago Tribune reported.
The tornado threat briefly closed Chicago's two airports - two of the nation's busiest - and halted commuter trains to the city's suburbs. The collapse of a warehouse roof in the city injured 40 people.
Commentators were calling the flooding the worst in a century, and the Cleveland Plain Dealer newspaper in Ohio said river levels were higher than during the infamous 1913 flood in the same area. Further rain was expected through the weekend.
According to CNN, 25 people had lost their lives across the region due to the floods.
{{/usCountry}}According to CNN, 25 people had lost their lives across the region due to the floods.
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