KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Concerns are high that flooding in the central U.S. will get even worse because of the most recent torrential downpours.
Strong storms that spawned dangerous tornadoes in Kansas and northwestern Missouri also brought heavy rain. Flash floods were reported in several places, closing roads and forcing water rescues.
Officials say three people in Douglas County, west of Kansas City, Kansas, were seriously injured by a strong tornado that struck near the college town of Lawrence.
The tornado touched down Tuesday night in a neighborhood south of Lawrence, which is home to the University of Kansas. More than a dozen homes were severely damaged, but no one was killed.
The Douglas County Emergency Management agency said Wednesday on Facebook that 15 people were injured by the storm, including the three with serious injuries. It warned people to stay away from storm-damaged areas.
The tornado was part of another strong round of severe and damaging storms that have battered the central U.S. Several twisters were reported in Iowa and Missouri, which also got heavy rain that caused flash flooding and led to water rescues.
Mark Fuchs of the National Weather Service, says Holt County in northwestern Missouri received 6 inches (15.2 centimeters) of rain, and a widespread area along the Iowa-Missouri border received at least 3 inches (7.6 centimeters) of rain.
In sparsely populated Putnam County, officials urged everyone to stay off roads because flooding was rampant after the county got 2 inches of rain in 20 minutes Tuesday night.
Hannibal, Missouri, officials were just beginning to assess damage Wednesday, hours after torrential rain proved too much for the storm sewers, causing a break that resulted in water damage to buildings in the historic downtown area.
Fuchs says most of the water will eventually drain into the already-flooded Missouri River, but it’s too early to know the exact impact. Some of the water also will end up in the Mississippi River, which is approaching record highs in several Missouri and Illinois communities.
More rain is forecast for Wednesday in Missouri.
Kansas City International Airport is open again after a harrowing night of storms that left debris over the runway, including debris apparently from a tornado-ravaged town nearly 50 miles away.
A tornado warning Tuesday night forced officials to move people from the terminal to a tunnel leading to the parking garage, where they stayed for about an hour.
But flights were delayed for several hours because of debris strewn about the airfield. Airport spokesman Joe McBride says debris that included pots, plants and wall panels was apparently blown to Kansas City from a tornado that struck Linwood, Kansas, 47 miles to the southwest.
The airport’s Twitter account described it as “Thousands of pieces over millions of square feet.”
The airport reopened around 12:15 a.m.