This image provided by Sioux County Sheriff shows City of Rock Valley, Iowa on Saturday, June 22, 2024. The governor of Iowa sent helicopters to a small town to evacuate people from flooded homes Saturday, the result of weeks of rain, while much of the United States longed for relief from yet anotherSirens blared at 2 a.m. in Rock Valley, Iowa, population 4,200, where people in hundreds of homes were told to get out as the Rock River could no longer take rain that has slammed the region.
Gov. Kim Reynolds declared a disaster for Sioux County, which includes Rock Valley. Drone video posted by the local sheriff showed no streets, just roofs and the tops of trees above water.continued. The National Weather Service said roughly 15 million people were under a heat warning — the highest warning — while another 90 million were under a heat advisory. Millions of residents across the country have had their lives disrupted by days of unusually high temperatures.
Heat-related hospital visits in New York state were 500% higher than the average June day, according to the Department of Health. Flooding from rain was South Dakota's problem. Several highways were closed, including a key stretch of Interstate 29, south of Sioux Falls, where there were no alternate routes. Sioux Falls, the state's largest city, had more than 7 inches of rain in three days.