At Least 3 Dead After Floodwaters Destroy Ohio Family's Mobile Home; Water Rescues Performed in Illinois

Carolyn Williams
Published: July 20,2015

At least three people are dead after severe thunderstorms caused dangerous flash flooding in the Midwest late Saturday evening into early Sunday morning.
Pregnant mother Victoria Kennard, 32, and her 7-year-old son Gabriel were killed when floodwaters swept away their mobile home in Ripley, Ohio, early Sunday morning, WCPO-TV reported. The body of Kennard’s 5-year-old daughter, Rose, was recovered Sunday morning.
“A cluster of thunderstorms moved through southern Ohio Saturday night bringing locally heavy rain to the region. North of Ripley an estimated 4 inches of rain fell in an hour and a half. A flash flood watch remains in effect until Monday,” said weather.com meteorologist Linda Lam.
(MORE: Flash Flooding from Severe Southwest Sweeps Through Central Arizona)
Three family members, including Kennard’s fiancé and two sons, were rescued.
Authorities performed water rescues in Hillview, Illinois, after a levee breach trapped four people in two homes Sunday morning, Greene County corrections officer John Shields told The Weather Channel.
Lam says, “Thunderstorms developed in western Illinois overnight and continued into Sunday morning for parts of the area, including near Hillview as a cold front in the area remained the focus for storm development. Radar estimated rainfall totals are in the 2- to 4-inch range for much of the region, with a few isolated spots to the east of Hillview, where up to 8 inches of rain is estimated.”
MORE: Ohio Valley Flooding March 2015