Montana Flooding

As flooding washes out roads and swamps more homes in Montana, regional rains are forcing releases from dams that promise to swell the Missouri River past its banks downstream in Iowa and the Dakotas.

The central Montana town of Roundup was under an estimated 6 feet of water Thursday as the latest bout of flooding pounded the water-logged state.

Melting snow pouring out of the mountains is combining with record rains to cause flooding that officials worry could be the worst in decades.

By Thursday, roads and highways were being closed in many parts of Montana as dozens of rivers and streams overflowed their banks. Authorities declared flood emergencies in three more counties.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers predicted hundreds of homes in downstream states could flood as the water flows eastward toward North Dakota.

Story from The Associated Press