Miscelánea Noticias. Flooding has forced the closure of hundreds of Missouri roads, including a 57-mile stretch of Interstate 44 in the south of the state. The Missouri Department of Transportation said Monday that several sections of the stretch of I-44 between Rolla and Lebanon are underwater. More than a foot of water fell in parts of the state from Friday through Sunday, causing widespread flooding that led to hundreds of water rescues and killed at least three people in the state. Many rivers were still rising Monday. Near-record flooding is possible on the Meramec River near St. Louis and other smaller rivers. Even the Mississippi River is projected to come within a half-foot of the all-time record in Cape Girardeau. The storms were part of a bigger system that being blamed for the deaths of at least 15 people. Three people are dead after torrential rains in Missouri caused rivers to rise rapidly. Several inches of rain fell across the state Friday through Sunday. In Jefferson County, south of St. Louis, a 78-year-old man drowned after walking to a creek to look at rising water. Authorities say he slipped and was swept away. Two others died when vehicles were swept away by floodwaters. The Missouri State Highway Patrol says 18-yea-old Gideon Jenkins, of Richland, was killed early Sunday when his vehicle was caught in flash floodwaters as he attempted to drive across a low-water crossing in Pulaski County. Madelaine Krueger, of Billings, was killed Saturday afternoon. The 72-year-old woman was a passenger in a vehicle that was swept off a highway in Christian County.