CHICAGO (AP) - The Latest on severe weather in the Midwest and other parts of the U.S. (all times local):
9:50 p.m.
Lansing, Michigan, Mayor Andy Schor declared a state of emergency for the city in anticipation that flooding will hit residential areas.
The National Weather Service predicts the Grand River in Lansing will crest at 14.6 feet, nearly three feet above flood stage by late Thursday. The Red Cedar River is forecast to crest at 10.3 feet.
City officials recommend anyone living in the possible flood areas to temporarily leave their home by noon Thursday.
In a statement, Schor notes the rain has stopped, but significant flooding will occur. He added the state of emergency allows the city to “proactively provide the necessary information and resources to protect our residents.”
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4 p.m.
Michigan State Police say a 1-year-old girl has been found dead in standing water in her backyard.
They say the toddler walked away from her house Wednesday morning and entered the standing water from heavy rains and snowmelt in central Michigan’s Fairplain Township.
Police say the parents were home when officers arrived. Child Protective Services is also investigating the death.
The child’s name wasn’t immediately released.
Authorities say heavy rains and wintry weather have contributed to at least six other deaths in Illinois, Kansas and Nebraska since Monday.
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3:35 p.m.
Evacuations are growing across the Midwest after heavy rains sent rivers and streams out of their banks.
Authorities in Lansing, Michigan, recommended the evacuations of at least six neighborhoods Wednesday ahead of the expected cresting of the Grand River at more than 3 feet above flood stage.
Firefighters in Lake Station, Indiana, about 30 miles southeast of Chicago, evacuated some residents Wednesday after about 2 to 3 feet of water surrounded 15 to 20 homes.
The National Weather Service says up to 8 inches of rain have fallen in parts of northern Indiana since Monday.
Illinois authorities issued an evacuation order for residents in the city of Marseilles who live near the Illinois River. They were ordered out by 2 p.m. Wednesday, after which no re-entry would be allowed.
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2 p.m.
Crews in central Arkansas rescued 17 students after a school bus drove off the road and got stuck in floodwaters. Students also were rescued from a school bus during flooding in Indiana.
In Arkansas, the Pulaski County Sheriff’s Office says the bus became stuck Wednesday morning in a rural part of North Little Rock. No one was hurt.
Authorities say crews with the county’s road and bridge department backed a truck up to the rear of the bus and rescued the students, eight at a time.
Near Lafayette, Indiana, police say the wake from a passing vehicle pushed a school bus off a county road. No students were injured.
Flood warnings are in effect Wednesday across several states, from Texas to Ohio. The National Weather Service says some areas near Little Rock have seen 6 inches of rain over the past day, and more is in the forecast.
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11:40 a.m.
Crews are using boats to help northern Indiana residents amid flooding from melting snow and heavy rain moving across the Midwest.
Elkhart Mayor Tim Neese said Wednesday that about 19 people had been evacuated from homes in low-lying residential areas. He says sandbags are being made available.
The Elkhart Truth newspaper reports that the mayor says the city hasn’t seen such flooding “in the last 45 years,” the result of rain and melting snow combining to swell rivers in the area.
Flood warnings are in effect Wednesday across several states, spanning from Texas to Ohio. The storm system has also brought snow and ice to some states.
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6:45 a.m.
Sandbags are holding back floodwaters in parts of Michigan as a storm sweeps across the Midwest and Great Plains, bringing heavy rains, snow and ice.
Flood warnings are in effect Wednesday for parts of northern Illinois and northern Indiana, along with southern Wisconsin and much of Michigan’s Lower Peninsula.
The National Weather Service also issued flood warnings for parts of Missouri and Texas.
In southwestern Michigan, sandbags were filled to protect homes and businesses in the village of Mattawan as the Mattawan Creek rose above its banks.
In Indiana, homes and streets were flooded in the South Bend area, and forecasters predicted the St. Joseph River wouldn’t crest until Thursday.
Winter weather advisories are in effect for an area stretching from southwestern Illinois to Texas.
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12:35 a.m.
Several states could see severe flooding and other weather-related problems amid a storm system that has brought rain, ice and snow to the Midwest and Great Plains.
Melting snow and heavy rain prompted the National Weather Service to issue flood warnings for parts of northern Illinois and flood watches for central Illinois. The fear of a rising Illinois River forced the evacuation late Tuesday of the LaSalle County Nursing Home in Ottawa.
Parts of Michigan’s Lower Peninsula are seeing flooding and road closures.
Flood warnings have been in effect in Illinois, Indiana and Michigan, with flood watches in Texas and Arkansas.
The weather service issued winter weather advisories for parts of Oklahoma, Kansas, North Dakota, Missouri, Iowa, Minnesota and Wisconsin.
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