CNN) -- Record-setting rains in parts of the Midwest have caused hundreds of flight cancellations and flooding, with one northern Illinois hospital evacuating patients due to rising floodwaters.
Forty-four patients were
removed Thursday from Morris Hospital in Morris, Illinois, due to the
threat of rising floodwaters from the nearby Illinois River that had
already soaked the two-story facility's ground floor, said hospital
spokeswoman Janet Long. Of those, 27 were transferred to other hospitals
and 17 ended up going home or back to their nursing homes.
The evacuation was
precautionary, Long said, adding that the hospital's emergency
department will remain open Friday -- when the Illinois River is
expected to crest around 7 a.m.
Along the same river
about 25 miles west in Ottawa, a voluntary evacuation order has been
issued for residents in the eastern part of that city, said LaSalle
County emergency management official Connie Brooks. Some 100 people have
already left two mobile home parks 10 miles farther west in Utica, she
added.
Rising rivers are just
one of the headaches tied to torrential rains in recent days. Back
streets and highways have also been inundated by flash floods around
Illinois, Indiana and elsewhere, while thousands of would-be air
travelers have found themselves stranded.
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