Up to nine inches of rain fell on northern Iowa overnight, saturating theground & pushing rivers & streams out of their banks. Flash flooding hasforced the closing of several roads in Worth, Mitchell & Cerro Gordocounties. Besides the street flooding, basement flooding and overflowing sewers,Worth County Emergency Management spokesman Lynn (a man) Sorenson says atrain derailed.That train derailment is in the Grafton area of Worth County. Sorenson saysthe town of Manly, north of Mason City, was declared a disaster area, as wasWorth County, early this morning.Iowa National Guard troops are being requested by county officials. Peopleovernighting in the Camp of the Woods campgrounds near Rock Falls wereevacuated this morning due to fast-rising water. Larry Warner of MasonCity, saw what was left of the campgrounds float by.Warner was calling from his cellular phone after watching as debris from thecampgrounds was swept under –and into– the bridge. He says campers, motorhomes mobile homes were careening by.John Evers is owner of the campgrounds which had been nearly full of campersa day ago. Now, Evers says maybe four campers are left — the rest wereswept away by the fast-moving water.Mitchell County Emergency Management Director Ray Huftalin says that area’sgotten at least seven inches of rain.Huftalin had just gotten off the phone with his counterpart in Worth Countyto the west, where flooding is worse.As yet, there are no reports of any deaths or serious injuries.
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