Rising flood waters swamped central US river city on Friday, forcing residents to flee their homes & officials to abandon city hall amid a wider crisis that has left 20 dead. The state capital Des Moines, population 200,000, urged residents living within the “500-year flood zone” to evacuate as the Des Moines River was expected to rise to near the top of the levee. A total of 15 lives have been lost in Iowa & thousands were left homeless. Two people were killed by floodwaters in Indiana & two delivery people were drowned on Sunday when their car fell off a washed out road into a flooded creek. Another person was killed on Wednesday when a tornado ripped through the town of Chapman, Kansas.

The disaster began when a major tornado struck on May 25. It was followed by heavy rains, with more thunderstorms expected this weekend & on Wednesday another twister touched ground in western Iowa, killing four boy scouts. Serious flooding has hit the entire region including parts of South Dakota, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Nebraska, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Oklahoma & Arkansas. Torrential rains on Thursday left downriver towns preparing for the worst & the National Guard called in to help an army of volunteers with sandbagging and rescue efforts.