UPDATE 5-Widespread flooding hits U.S. Midwest, rivers still rising

(Adds comments from authorities, flight cancellations,
background)
By Mary Wisniewski
CHICAGO Dec 30 (Reuters) - Rain-swollen rivers in the U.S.
Midwest forced the evacuation of hundreds of residents,
threatened crops and livestock and left scores of buildings
underwater on Wednesday after days of extreme weather in which
24 people died.
Several major rivers, including the Mississippi, were
expected to crest at or above record levels as flood waters
rushed toward the Gulf of Mexico, the National Weather Service
said.
Flooding has closed many roads and parts of Interstate 44, a
major artery running from west Texas to St. Louis.
Water rose to the rooftops of homes and businesses in
Missouri, where Governor Jay Nixon called the flooding "historic
and dangerous."
About 300 people in Valley Park, Missouri, west of St.
Louis, were evacuated because a levee that protects the
community might be breached by the Meramec River, said Chief
Rick Wilken of the Valley Park Fire District.
"We have seven people who are going to wait it out," Wilken
said. "Some people just want to hang onto their homes."
The American Red Cross had seven shelters open in St. Louis
on Wednesday, and spokesman Jack Collins said people were trying
to help each other. "There was one lady who only had $67 in her
bank account but gave 34 of it for cereal and pop tarts and that
sort of thing, just to give back," Collins said.
Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal declared a state of
emergency as the waters moved south toward his state. Flash
flood warnings were issued for parts of the Carolinas and
Georgia.

'ONE HUGE LAKE'
At least 24 people have died in Missouri, Illinois, Arkansas
and Oklahoma in flooding after days of downpours that brought as
much as 12 inches (30 cm) of rain to some areas. Most of the
deaths resulted from people driving into flooded areas.
In Eureka, Missouri, along the Meramec River, Mayor Kevin
Coffey said a man was rescued from atop the cab of his pick-up
truck after spending the night in a parking lot to watch over
his gun shop business.
"This is 4 feet (1.2 meters) above the worst flood we ever
had," Coffey said after helping to put sandbags around a school.
"The town looks like one huge lake."
Historic floods on the Mississippi in 1993, 1995 and 2011
occurred during warm weather, after snow melts in the north.
AccuWeather senior meteorologist Alex Sosnowski called it highly
unusual to have heavy flooding in winter and said it could
presage trouble for the spring.
"The gun may be loaded again for another major flooding
event," said Sosnowski, who cited the El Nino weather pattern as
the source of recent heavy rains. "You're not supposed to get
this kind of heavy rainfall during the wintertime."
Agriculture experts said that water standing more than a
week could kill the soft red winter wheat crop. L1N14H19M
Export premiums for corn and soybeans were at their highest
levels in weeks because of stalled barge traffic on swollen
rivers.

2,500 HOGS DROWN
Livestock also has been hard hit. About 2,500 hogs drowned
in an Illinois barn after a creek overflowed its banks, said
Jennifer Tirey, a spokeswoman for the state's Pork Producers
Association.
"There was no electricity and roads were impassable. It was
just impossible to get to those pigs," she said.
The U.S. flooding is occurring at the same time as historic
El Nino-related flooding across northern England. The El Nino
weather phenomenon tends to disturb global weather patterns as
ocean water temperatures rise above normal across the central
and eastern Pacific, near the equator.
Several major rivers, including the Mississippi, and
tributaries in Missouri and Illinois were poised to crest at
record or above-record levels, the National Weather Service
said, but parts of the region were already inundated.
Flood warnings were issued from eastern Oklahoma into
southeastern Kansas, southern Missouri, central Illinois and
parts of Arkansas, Kentucky, Tennessee, and the Florida
panhandle.
While the rains have stopped for now, freezing weather is
setting in, which will make the cleanup a miserable undertaking,
Sosnowski said.
At the confluence of the Mississippi and Missouri rivers,
about 20 miles (32 km) north of St. Louis, residents of the
towns West Alton and Arnold were told to evacuate on Tuesday.
About 400 residents and businesses in the town of Pacific also
have evacuated.
The U.S. Coast Guard closed a 5-mile (8 km) stretch of the
Mississippi near St. Louis on Tuesday to all vessel traffic due
to hazardous conditions.
The Mississippi River, the third longest river in North
America, is expected to crest over the weekend at Thebes,
Illinois, at 47.5 feet, more than a foot and a half (46 cm)
above the 1995 record, according to the National Weather
Service.
The severe weather has stranded tens of thousands of people
during one of the busiest travel times of the year. More than
750 flights were canceled and 4,760 delayed as of mid-afternoon
on Wednesday, according to FlightAware.com.