Heavy Rains Douse Much of the Midwest, East

Storms dampened Labor Day activities from the Midwest to the Northeast on Monday, pummeling Indianapolis with more than 7 inches of rain and washing out parades across Ohio.

Indiana was the hardest hit by a front that stretched across the Ohio Valley and combined with moisture from the Gulf of Mexico to create heavy rain, the National Weather Service said.

Small boats ferried Indianapolis residents from homes cut off by floodwaters.

The weather service reported Monday afternoon that 4 to 10 inches of rain had fallen across parts of central Indiana since Sunday morning. More than 7.1 inches had fallen in Indianapolis by early Monday evening, breaking a 108-year-old record of 6.8 inches for the most rain there in a calendar day.

In Kansas, downpours that started early Saturday caused a flash flood that swept across a highway near Emporia, drowning four children as their family’s minivan was dragged more than a mile. Their mother and another motorist were still missing Monday.

Meanwhile, in suburban Kansas City, authorities found the body Monday of an 18-year-old who attempted to wade in a rain-swollen creek.

Steady rain throughout Ohio canceled parades statewide and an air show in Cleveland.

Meanwhile, the remnants of Tropical Storm Grace streamed across eastern Texas, causing scattered street flooding but no major problems.

The area just east of Galveston got the brunt of Grace with up to 12 inches of rain, National Weather Service meteorologist Charles Roeseler said.