Storms leave troubles for Midwest

Heavy storms over Chicago left parts of the city without power

Tens of thousands of people in the US Midwest remain without power following heavy storms, while floodwaters in some areas are still rising.

Skies cleared over Chicago as the storms moved east and south, while tornado warnings were issued for parts of Ohio.

Storms have battered US states from Minnesota down to Ohio in the last week or so, killing at least 17 people.

The weather has eased but many problems still remain for residents.

More than 650,000 customers in Illinois lost their power supply after a major storm on Thursday.

A utility company said it had restored power to the majority of homes by Saturday, but that it might be several days before everyone had electricity.

Ongoing struggle

Meanwhile, there was no let-up for some homeowners who were trying to keep floodwaters at bay.

"I have close to 3,000 sandbags around my house," said Richard Dubois in McHenry, Illinois, where the Fox River has been slowly rising.

"I'll add 2,000 more if I have to. I'm going to save my house," he told the Chicago Tribune.

"There's so much flooding continuing from the rain and run-off from two days ago," said Mark Ratzer, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service.

"That's going to take a while to recede," he told the Associated Press.

The states of Ohio, Wisconsin and Minnesota are cleaning up after their earlier flooding.

In Wisconsin evacuation orders were lifted on Saturday night, allowing people to return to their homes in Vernon County.