Southern Iowa Floods Close Roads, Schools

Roads turned to rivers and the rivers ran amok Tuesday as a stalled late-summer storm dumped nearly a foot of rain across southern Iowa.

For hours, rising water shut off roads to towns. Schools were closed, trains were stranded or rerouted and low-lying cropland was damaged. No serious injuries were reported.

All roads leading to the Wayne County seat of Corydon, about 50 miles south of Des Moines, were blocked by water. Lucas County authorities rescued an adult and two children trapped in a van surrounded by rising water, said sheriff’s dispatcher Rich Runnells.

Readings of six to 10 inches in 24 hours were common, with one unofficial reading of 16 inches in Van Wert.