wreckage of their homes. The deaths of 22 people were blamed on the flooding in the states, according to AP. The area still faces dangerous conditions because the ground is saturated and many rivers are running above flood levels. More ran is on its way. (Kelli Cardinal, The News via AP)

#2. vs. close call; very, very close call... Neighborhood residences and garages balance over the edge where floodwaters caused the earth to erode northwest of Winona, MN, Aug. 20. (Jim Mone, AP)

More rain fell Wednesday in parts of the Midwest already struggling to recover from severe flooding caused by a series of storms, and skies aren't expected to clear in some areas until Saturday.

"We're still swimming," said Lorie Bennett, city administrator in Humboldt, Iowa, where 33 residents were evacuated from a care center. Today was supposed to be the first day of school, but classes won't start until at least Friday.

"There is no part of town that's unaffected," she said, and on Wednesday afternoon, it was "pouring, just absolutely pouring."

Some communities that were inundated last weekend have been dumped on daily since then, setting rainfall records and sending rivers over their banks. Hundreds of people were forced to leave their homes, and roads and bridges have been washed out.

In Findlay, Ohio, Dick McAllister and his wife, Peggy, were evacuated Wednesday from the motel where they were staying as they traveled from Sturgis, Mich., home to Parkersburg, W.Va.

"They put my wife, me and others on the back of a dump truck and took us to higher ground," he said. They had to leave their car and clothes behind. A school bus took them to a shelter where about 150 people are staying. "It rained this morning, and it's supposed to rain some more," McAllister said. "I just need to get the hell out of here."

Hancock County Commissioner Emily Walton said the Blanchard River was expected to crest at 7.5 feet above flood stage in Findlay, matching a record set in 1913. Seven rescue boats were hunting for stranded residents, and about 130 inmates were moved from the county jail to a regional prison.

The persistent downpours are the result of a stalled front stretching from Iowa through Ohio, said Brian Astifan, a hydrologist at the National Weather Service's Cleveland office. "There's cooler air to the north and very, very hot air to the south," he said. "The moisture from Tropical Storm Erin's remnants wrapped around that big bubble of hot air. We have a chance of showers and thunderstorms, unfortunately, for the next several days."

Flooding in the Midwest, Texas and Oklahoma has been responsible for at least 22 deaths. Some states plan to request federal disaster funds. The latest:

•Iowa: Officials asked people in 90 houses north of Fort Dodge to evacuate Wednesday because levees near them were overflowing. Several counties were under flash-flood warnings, and state Highway 7 and U.S. Highway 20 were closed.

•Minnesota: More than 15 inches of rain fell in 24 hours in Hokah, Minn., said Todd Shea, a National Weather Service meteorologist in La Crosse, Wis. "No one in this area had ever witnessed that amount of rain before. It never let up," said David Possing, pastor of the Community Church of Hokah.

The National Guard, Salvation Army and Red Cross are on the scene in Stockton, Minn., where about 100 homes are uninhabitable. Stacy Hermann, owner of the L&S Grab 'N Go, said her convenience store is damaged but open. Asked how people are coping, she said, "Coping is not even a word people would use right now."

Terri Smith of the state's homeland security and emergency management agency said 300 homes were destroyed in seven counties and 400 more are damaged. Teams from the Federal Emergency Management Agency are assessing damage.

•Ohio: Gov. Ted Strickland declared a state of emergency in nine counties in northwest and north-central Ohio. In Shelby, where 22 people were rescued Tuesday by boat and helicopter, damage assessments began Wednesday. Shelby Mayor Jim Henkel said businesses and homes were flooded.

•Oklahoma: Hot, sunny weather Wednesday helped dry out areas that flooded last weekend. Funerals will be held today for three members of the Kiowa Indian Tribe who died when their car was trapped in the Washita River. About 300 homes and businesses were damaged in the Kingfisher area and Caddo County.

•Texas: Before moving north, rain from Tropical Storm Erin caused flooding in Houston, San Antonio and several counties last week. The state avoided another batch of heavy rain this week when Hurricane Dean came ashore in Mexico instead of the Texas coast.

•Wisconsin: Gov. Jim Doyle declared a state of emergency in five counties in the southwest part of the state. Preliminary damage reports topped $38 million. Engineers from the state Department of Natural Resources were monitoring seven earthen dams in Vernon County.

In Gays Mills, most of which was flooded Sunday, "the water has gone down, but we're left with one big mess," said Don Halverson, owner of Halver's Town Tap. "We got the mud out, and we've mopped six times, and we've got a lot of cleaning to do yet," he said. His house was undamaged, but he lost 25 acres of corn. His crop wasn't insured.

"The rivers are still pretty high, and we've got more rain coming," said meteorologist Shea. "Every 24 hours there's a resurgence of warm air that fires more thunderstorms."

Hermann, the store owner in Stockton, Minn., said the forecast is complicating cleanup efforts and taxing residents' patience. "Some people still don't have power," she said. "People are crabby. What happened is starting to hit home."

Contributing: Tom Alex of The Des Moines Register; Lou Whitmire of the Mansfield, Ohio, News Journal; wire reports.

http://www.usatoday.com/weather/storms/2007-08-22-midwest-floods_N.htm