US Midwest floods as East sweats

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A house in Wisconsin being washed away

Severe thunderstorms have caused more flooding in the US Midwest, as the East coast swelters in a heat wave.

A number of homes were swept away in Wisconsin after a lake burst its banks. In Indiana, military crews helped sandbag rapidly rising streams.

Heavy rains have also damaged corn and soy bean crops, hurting farmers' hopes of good harvests in Midwestern states.

Meanwhile, the National Weather Service issued heat warnings for eastern states from Massachusetts to North Carolina.

Temperatures rose above 100F (38C) from Georgia to Virginia, while New York baked in a record temperature for the time of year of 99F (37C).

The National Weather Service has warned that the unusually hot weather in north-eastern states could turn to thunderstorms.

New York City opened 300 cooling centres earlier this week to try to help people cope with the heat, a spokesman for the Office of Emergency Management said.

River closure

Wisconsin Governor Jim Doyle declared a state of emergency in 30 counties on Monday.

A state of emergency has been declared in many Wisconsin counties

The failure of an earth embankment forming the side of the 268-acres (108 ha) manmade Lake Delton caused a current that tore a handful of homes from their foundations.

Engineers and National Guard teams were later sent to examine how to repair the embankment.

Elsewhere in Wisconsin, the village of Gays Mills was submerged by flood water for the second time in less than a year, forcing the evacuation of scores of people.

"I can't believe this is happening again," resident Liz Klecamp told the Associated Press news agency, after fleeing her home as water poured in. "It's really, truly sad."

Storms have also affected parts of Iowa, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan and Minnesota in recent days, with some 15 people killed in weather-related incidents over the weekend.

The US Army Corps of Engineers said it expected to close a 250-mile (400km) length of the Mississippi River as soon as Thursday because of flooding.

The closure - affecting a stretch between Illinois and Missouri - could last up to two weeks, a corps spokesman told the AP, affecting barge traffic.

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