According to officials, a man in northwest Iowa drowned in his basement amid the devastating floods that struck the Midwest this week, raising the total number of deaths to at least three.
Kyle Kreykes, 52, was found dead on Monday after his family reported him missing on June 21, according to Rock Valley Police Chief Monte Warburton.
Kreykes drowned in his home’s flooded basement, where he lived alone, Warburton reported. Officials were unable to search Kreykes’ home for several days due to high water levels, Warburton said. Large pumps were brought in to drain the floodwaters.
President Joe Biden declared a disaster in many Iowa counties on Monday, including Clay County.
Officials in Iowa and South Dakota reported at least two more deaths as a result of the flooding.
According to a news release issued by the Clay County Sheriff’s Office on Tuesday, a man died after attempting to drive a pickup truck across fast floodwaters in Spencer on Saturday.
The man, from Elburn, Illinois, was washed away and recovered floating in the Little Sioux River, according to officials.
“Recovery efforts were not attempted due to the very dangerous situations,” the release stated. Officials found the man’s body Tuesday morning.
According to CNN, On Saturday, the South Dakota Highway Patrol reported that an 87-year-old man driving a utility vehicle perished in a flood-related incident near Sioux Falls, South Dakota.
“The driver attempted to turn around, but instead went backward over the edge of the washout,” officials said in a news statement Tuesday. “The UTV began to roll and the driver was ejected.”
South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem confirmed the death during a news conference Sunday and urged residents to avoid flooded regions.
“I want to remind everybody to remember the power of water and the flow of water,” she told me. “These are serious flood levels.”
Noem said that numerous upstream river gauges have shattered water flow and level records.
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