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Historic Midwest Floods, After Months Of Drought

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Peoria Maintenance Engineer Jim Clark, right bottom, monitors the sand bag wall holding back the Illinois River from recent flooding Wednesday, April 24, 2013, in Peoria, Ill. The Illinois River finally crested Tuesday at 29.35 feet, eclipsing a 70-year record in Peoria. (Seth Perlman/AP)
Peoria Maintenance Engineer Jim Clark, right bottom, monitors the sand bag wall holding back the Illinois River from recent flooding Wednesday, April 24, 2013, in Peoria, Ill. The Illinois River finally crested Tuesday at 29.35 feet, eclipsing a 70-year record in Peoria. (Seth Perlman/AP)

Much of the Midwest has been experiencing severe flooding in recent weeks.

Illinois, Missouri, Iowa, Indiana, North Dakota, Mississippi and Michigan have been severely affected, according to the National Weather Service.

Four deaths have been blamed on the high waters.

Governor Pat Quinn of Illinois has declared states of emergency in nearly half of the state's counties.

Grafton, Ill., sits at the convergence of the Mississippi and Illinois rivers.

Grafton Police Chief Chris Sullivan told Here & Now that while the town is always prepared for seasonal flooding, this is definitely a historic flood.

Guest:

  • Chris Sullivan, chief of police for Grafton, Illinois.

This segment aired on April 26, 2013.

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