(Updated 6:57-a.m.)
Emergency officials in Madison County report motorists in two separate vehicles had to be rescued early this (Wednesday) morning, when those vehicles became stranded in low spots on the road that were covered with water. The incidents occurred about 8-miles south-southwest of Earlham in the 1700 block of Pitzer Road. No injuries were reported.
Heavy rainfall also caused flooding and power outages in Omaha, with the storms bringing down tree limbs and high waters stranding some motorists. Omaha firefighters tell the World-Herald a woman and three children had to be rescued from a minivan, which was trapped under a bridge. In some places, manhole covers popped off because the runoff overwhelmed storm sewers. More than 2,100 residents were without electricity Tuesday night. For about half an hour, the Douglas County, NE., 911 system also wasn’t working properly. Mark Conrey, director of the 911 call center, says he’ll be working to find out what happened.
According to reports, in Shenandoah, a portion of a downtown building slated for demolition collapsed sometime between 4-and 6-pm Tuesday, when a strong thunderstorm swept through the community. As a result of the damage, the Shenandoah City Council voted to block Blossom Street between West Sheridan and the alley north of the street, out of concerns more of the building would collapse.
Union County emergency management coordinator Jo Anne Duckworth says up to 4 inches of rain fell in 45 minutes in the southern side her County. There were road washouts in Ringgold and Clarke Counties, and some bridges damaged. Hail slightly larger than the size of golf balls fell in Adams and Taylor Counties late Tuesday afternoon. Tree limbs blocked some roads in and near Griswold late Tuesday night. There was also some brief flooding of Bull Creek here in Atlantic, according to the Cass County Communications Center.