ST. LOUIS (AP) – A couple in their 70s who worked as election poll workers were among at least five people killed in Missouri after torrential rains caused flash flooding across the state.

Up to 20 centimeters of rain fell over two days in some parts of Missouri, leading to widespread flooding and dozens of water rescues. It was also part of the storm system. hurricanes emerging in Oklahoma and Arkansas.

In Wright County, Missouri, a county of about 19,000 people 210 miles (340 kilometers) southeast of Kansas City, a 70-year-old man and a 73-year-old woman were in a vehicle that flooded Beaver Creek around 4 p.m. 30 a.m. Tuesday, the state patrol said. The bodies of the couple from Manes, Missouri, were found more than four hours later.

Wright County Clerk Loni Pedersen confirmed that both people who died were poll workers.

“This is a tragic loss for Wright County,” Pedersen said in an email. “They were dedicated citizens who valued fair and honest elections.”

Three people in two other cars swept away by the rapidly rising stream were able to swim to safety, the patrol said.

St. Two more deaths were reported in St. Louis County. Firefighters were called Tuesday morning after a submerged SUV was spotted near flooded Gravois Creek near Interstate 55. Lemay Fire Protection District spokesman Jason Brice said crews broke through the sunroof and pulled out a woman who was reported dead.

Hours later, a man’s body was found in the same flooded creek, Brice said. Authorities are investigating how the body got there. Brice said firefighters rescued 10 more people from flooded vehicles.

On Monday, Missouri state troopers in St. The body of a 66-year-old man was found after a car flew off a bridge in Ironton, about 90 miles (145 kilometers) south of St. Louis.

The National Weather Service said four possible tornadoes and possibly more occurred in parts of Oklahoma and Arkansas on Monday. No deaths or injuries were reported due to the hurricane.

Keli Cain, spokeswoman for the Oklahoma Department of Emergency Management, said damage assessments are ongoing.

The storms occurred a day after tornadoes injured at least 11 people in the Oklahoma City area of ​​central Oklahoma.

Cain said the department is working with the Oklahoma State Board of Elections to ensure polling places are not disrupted.