Major Midwest flooding ongoing; heavy rain moves to Carolinas

May 19 (UPI) -- Major ongoing flooding has hit the Midwest from Illinois to Michigan amid heavy rainfall over the last few days.

In Michigan, the Tittabawassee River in Midland and the Rifle River near Sterling reached major flood stage Tuesday and minor to moderate flooding has been observed in several rivers across the state, according to the National Weather Service.

Meteorologist said that 3 to 4 inches of rain have fallen in Midland County, Mich., since Sunday producing a "tremendous" amount of runoff, which the NWS said is significantly impacting the rivers.

Flooding has made it impossible to pass some roads and bridges.

Evacuation orders have been issued as some dams in Midland County, Mich., could barely hold and could still possibly fail, ABC News reported.

In Illinois, heavy rains Sunday combined with record rain in Chicago last week that led to flooding of homes and power outages in swaths of the city and suburbs as rivers and streams overflowed.

Chicago alone has recorded 8.3 inches of rain in May so far, marking the wettest May on record.

The National Weather Service Weather Prediction Center said in a Facebook post that heavy rain from the Ohio River Valley will shift to the southern Appalachians, Carolinas and western Virginia on Tuesday and Wednesday.

Some flash flooding is likely in Indiana, Ohio and Kentucky Tuesday, according to the WPC, and the same is likely in western parts of South Carolina, North Carolina and Virginia Tuesday and Wednesday.