Central US braced for more floods

Missouri was one of the states worst hit by flooding

The central US is being threatened with worsening weather conditions, after at least 16 people died and hundreds of homes were evacuated because of floods.

Many rivers have burst their banks and water levels are still rising, while the city of Chicago has been hit by a fresh snowstorm.

Worst hit are Missouri, Arkansas, Illinois, Indiana and Kentucky, where levels should peak at the weekend.

Blizzards are expected in Maine, where 1ft (30cm) of snow has already fallen.

Hundreds of flights have been cancelled and more delayed at O'Hare International Airport in Chicago.

Flights were also cancelled at Detroit Metropolitan Airport in Michigan, where up to 12in (30cm) snow was expected.

Sunshine returned to many areas on Thursday after heavy rain earlier in the week.

But residents of the worst-affected states built sandbag barriers to protect homes, schools and businesses as rivers continued to swell and snows melted.

The US coast guard has helped rescue people trapped in their homes and cars.

Six deaths were linked to the flooding in Missouri - including that of a 19-year-old man swept two miles (3.2km) downstream in a flooded creek.

Five people died in a road accident in heavy rain in Kentucky and a 65-year-old Ohio woman drowned in her home.

In southern Illinois, two bodies were found after floodwaters swept a truck off a rural road.

A body was recovered in Texas after a teenager was swept down a drainage pipe.

Two people went missing in Arkansas after their vehicles were swept away.

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