10:19 a.m. 4 people dead after heavy rain causes flooding in Missouri

PIEDMONT, Mo. (AP) — Parts of southern Missouri received more than 10 inches of rain over the past day-and-a-half, leaving four people dead and hundreds out of their homes.

The rains are finally expected to come to an end on Wednesday, leaving residents and community officials from Springfield to Cape Girardeau assessing the damage of the sudden and ceaseless rain that began Monday and continued virtually nonstop into Wednesday morning.

Authorities in southwest Missouri were searching for a man reported swept away Tuesday night in a swollen creek between Monett and Pierce City. “He was going down the creek screaming and hollering,” Lawrence County emergency management chief Mike Rowe said.

Two of the dead were in Greene County in the Springfield area, the latest a 67-year-old man who drove his car into a flooded creek 1 mile east of the city. The Missouri State Highway Patrol says Ronald Rudd’s car was swept 600 feet downstream Tuesday night and became lodged in debris.

Rudd’s 69-year-old wife, Dorothy Rudd, suffered minor injuries and was taken to St. John’s Hospital in Springfield.

Missouri Department of Transportation worker Joshua Slatten, 21, of Springfield died Tuesday when his dump truck was struck by a semi as Slatten was setting up barriers along a flooded area of U.S. 65. The name of the second Greene County victim was not released. He died when his car was pushed off the road by floodwaters, according to the Missouri State Emergency Management Agency.

An 81-year-old man was found dead around noon Tuesday in the hard-hit town of Ellington, about 120 miles southwest of St. Louis, said Missouri State Water Patrol spokesman Lt. Nicholas Humphrey. Walter Baker was found drowned in floodwaters near a cluster of debris.

State officials haven’t confirmed the fourth death, but the Southeast Missourian newspaper in Cape Girardeau reported that 69-year-old Thurman Shelton of Jackson died when his pickup was swept into a creek in Marble Hill.

Gov. Matt Blunt activated the Missouri National Guard. Hundreds of roads were closed in southern, central and eastern Missouri because of high water.

Flash flooding was the biggest problem, but some rivers were also rising signicantly. The Meramec was expected to crest 10-15 feet above flood stage at some spots, threatening towns like Eureka and Valley Park. The Big and St. Francis rivers were also expected to see significant flooding.

Two of the hardest hit towns were only a few miles apart in southeast Missouri — Ellington and Piedmont.

Propane tanks floated free Tuesday near Ellington, and a mudslide closed Highway H. Up to 50 homes and half of the town’s businesses were evacuated. SEMA said a bridge was at risk due to rushing water.

Earlier Tuesday, a Water Patrol boat sank near Ellington while searching for flood victims. One officer was on the boat, but he made his way to shore and was unharmed.

An estimated 300 houses and businesses were flooded in Piedmont, a town of 2,000 residents. There were no immediate reports of injuries there. Wayne County Emergency Management Director Eric Fuchs said McKenzie Creek was the culprit, rising well above its banks.

Scott and Marilyne Peterson and their 25-year-old son, Scott Jr., scurried out of their mobile home in rural Piedmont after watching the water rise 3 feet in five minutes. The family had just enough time to grab some essentials, a few clothes and the family dog.