Water, so the power were talking about as well as the volume is extremely significant. Reporter the governor declaring a state of emergency and activating the National Guard. As officials predict river levels could exceed the great flood of 1993. That claimed nearly 50 lives and damaged or destroyed some 50,000 homes. The most devastating in modern u. S. History. In the town of west alton, near st. Louis, the may other urging his 500 residents to evacuate after water levels overtopped the levee. This is your notice, this is serious. You need to get final preparations and go. Reporter parts of union, missouri under water with homes, cars, restaurants completely submerge. And one photographer even capturing video of this cabin floating away. Authorities urging drivers to stay off inundated roadways, fearing theyll get stuck and swept away. The vast majority of deaths weve had, i cant stress this enough, is people driving into water, especially driving into water at night. Reporter its the race against time as residents and volunteers sandbag their homes and prepare to evacuate. I am worried. I just dont know what to do. And its still supposed to come up higher. My main concern right now is just getting our vehicle out. So that were not our truck is not trapped in here. Reporter officials now watching and hoping that the levees hold. Its more just a wait and see, once its over, then well have to go from there. We really done the know whats going to happen. Reporter this is recordbreaking, recordsetting, remarkable flooding youre seeing throughout the region. The Mississippi River has never seen some of these levels. Frankly, these are communities that are used to waterizing. Youre looking at this time the year, youre looking at an awful lot of rain. Its been a pretty mild fall and winter for some of these spots. Any kind of rainfall and snowfall has been devastating. The rivers do get high in this part of the country but not at this time of year. This is not the season where they normally see this level of flooding. Usually its in the spring when snows melt and you see this level of inundation. This is a bill unusual. Were talking about 18 Million People under flood warnings, 18 million in 13 states. Think of the effort to try to evacuate all those people, to make sure they can get to Higher Ground, safer ground, preparing their homes to avoid getting inundated with water the best they can. The warning is be very careful when driving. Thats where the majority of deaths and injuries come from, people driving that these waters. In some communities theyre staying stay home. In others, theyre saying get out. Its important here. This is really indicative idea of how wide of an area, when you talk about 18 Million People, these are all of the state, awe the areas where there is a current u. S. Flood warning right now. If you are in these areas, youve got to be listening and watching television, listening to the television, listening to the aert erleralerts. Some having issues with communication in the area, in st. Louis. We have people on the ground. We will speak to officials in just a few minutes to get the latest on that developing situation there. We do have Jennifer Grey right now. Shes there for us. Shes in valley park, missouri. Shes got the latest on the timing and the forecast. What can you tell us . Were talking about recordbreaking water here, flooding, levees throughout the region are being monitored as these rivers are rising quickly, jennifer. Youre exactly right, christine. We are going to see recordbreaking flooding here in valley park. In fact, the river is supposed to crest about three feet above the record level. If you can see behind me, this is where 141 and interstate 44 meet. This is a main thoroughfare. You can see how high the water is. Im not sure if you can see the overpass of the interstate over there. The water is almost to the interstate. It is rushing by. This is not just standing water. Theres actually fight a bit of current here. Thats why we talk about how flooding can be so deadly. It is extremely dangerous. They have been doing evacuations. This is going to rival the 1993 floods, in fact, some areas south of st. Louis will actually be worse than that. Were also going to see a lot of these stations south of st. Louis break records. So they have been doing evacuations. Of course, you have all of these different rivers that are feeding into the Mississippi River. This is a very different scenario from the 1993 floods that happened in the summertime. It was after a lot of rain plus the snow melt. And so this is happening in december where weve just had more rain than we can handle. St. Louis has actually broken a record for rainfall this year. And the south has seen an incredible amount of rain. Its not only the st. Louis area thats going to have problems but all downstream along the Mississippi River, were going to see the potential for flooding in the coming days. So this isnt going to be over today or tomorrow. But this is going to last for several days. Michaela, the river here in valley park is expected to crest around midnight tonight. So the water is going to continue to rise throughout the day today. Thats why theyre being proactive in getting people to Higher Ground. They also were a lot of roads closed in this area. We had trouble even getting to our live shot. Theyre continuing to close roads as the water continues to rise. Well, talk about that a little bit more, jennifer. You are on the ground and youve had a chance to see what reality is like for the people forced to evacuate. How people are getting out of the area . Have they been able to do it in ample time before the closures happened . Well, the good thing about there reallien is a good part of this but the difference between this and flash flooding, flash flooding happens so fast. With this river flooding, it happens more gradually. We have the crest predicted which have day its going to happen. People do have a little more time to get out. The problem is, is when water overtops levees, a levee breaches, things like that, thats when youre going to get the Rushing Water into some of these communities. I think theyve done a really good job of being on top of that and staying ahead of the game when it comes to that and trying to get people to Higher Ground and keeping them safe. Unfortunately we have had more than a dozen deaths because of the flooding. Just like christine and you guys were saying earlier, do not drive into high water. Thats how a majority of these deaths happen. You have no idea how deep the water is. I just rolled up here. This could be two feet deep when its more like 12 to 13 feet deep. You can imagine somebody rolling here and not realizing how deep it is. If you see standing water, avoid it if you can. Jennifer grey well be calling on you frequently this morning. Stan by for us, keep reporting. Coming up next hour, well talk to the missouri governor, jay nixon, about what his state is doing to prevent a catastrophe from this historic flooding. So thecalled affluenza teen is expected back in the United States today. Authorities in texas awaiting the return of the 18yearold fugitive, ethan couch and his mother. They were arrested by mexican authorities on monday. Cnns ed lavandera live in dallas, standing by with the latest. Good morning, ed. Reporter good morning, john. Us a u. S. Official briefed on ls the matter, they say they expect ethan couch and his mother to start making their way back here to the United States. What awaits them is a fury of activity where officials here and authorities here in texas say that the mother of ethan couch will be arrested and charged with hindering the apprehension of a juvenile. She faces between two to ten years in prison. That is a felony charge. And ethan couch also will be taken into custody as well. And he could face, this is where it gets complicated, john. Prosecutors here in texas are trying to move ethan couchs case from the juvenile system into the adult system. But theres not a hearing scheduled on that until january 19th of next year. And based on what happens at that hearing will really determine what exactly will happen with ethan couch here in the future. For now, the most he faces in jail is up to about 120 days. If prosecutors are successful in moving his case into the adult system, and ethan couch violates his probation again, he could face up to 40 years in prison. But that is a long way off and would require a lot of things to happen between now and then. Right now, the focus, really, on exactly what ethan couch and his mother did over the last several weeks that they were considered missing, a mexican immigration official tells us they crossed into mexico through tijuana, south of san diego and made their way down to Puerto Vallarta. A lot of officials here and authorities here in texas still trying to figure out exactly how they were able to make it down there. Officials tell us they drove their own pickup truck from the ft. Worth area down there to that Mexican Pacific resort town before they were apprehended on monday afternoon. It was a call of sources tell us it was a cell phone, ethan couchs cell phone that authorities were able to use to track their whereabouts and pinpoint their location there in Puerto Vallarta and track him down. Christine . Ill take it, ed. Ed lavandera in dallas. As wed was talking about, ethan couch and his mother expected back in texas, back in the United States today. What is in store for them . What new have we learned about how they managed avoid authorities for three weeks while being on the run. Thanks so much for being with us. Morning, john. This kid, ethan couch, he died his hair black. He and his mother were staying in some apartment building, not on the pristine coast of Puerto Vallarta but they were clearly trying to stay out of sight there. This clearly shows, doesnt it, that they were on the run, trying to evade authorities and perhaps it was just the beginning . Yes, john, i agree. I mean, theres no doubt about it, they were on the run. I mean, they had a supposedly as been reported they had a Going Away Party on new years christmas eve, basically said goodbye to their family members and friends and then took off. And probably when you look at the time frame of when their last meeting was, with probation and they used that time frame to actually get away, and then by the time the marshals u. S. Marshals were called in, it was about 11, 12 days ago. The federal authorities, along with Tarrant County jumped on this case fairly quickly. But they could have had plans to head further south, down into central or south america. Its going to be interesting to see what the reports come back from mexican immigration and the Mexican State Police in the Puerto Vallarta area to see exactly what they were doing down there. Yes, because, look, if you do want to get away from the United States, Puerto Vallarta, its not exactly the best place to hide. This is a place with a lot of american tourists and connections with u. S. Authority. If they wanted to stay away forever, you would think it was some kind of middle ground. Exactly. It was a good place for them to temporarily hide out. It was the holidays were coming up. Theres a lot of u. S. Visitors down there in that area, due to the beach resort. I think it probably was a wait station for them to head further south, into some place down in south america. It will be very interesting to see not only how what the plans were on this particular escape but also to see how the juggling act is going to occur here in Tarrant County. Once they come back, the federal Law Enforcement involvement ends at that particular point. You can see the picture of ethan couch right now with his blond hair. Of course, the picture we just got from mexican authorities, you can see it clearly dyed, including his mustache, his mother on the left. We talked about the planning here. Theres also perhaps a level of planning mitigating the idea of getting caught, the fact that he was in the juvenile system. Even though hes been caught violating probation on run in another country, throwing the back at h book at him, the bok might not be that heavy. The book ends on april 11th, 2016 when he actually turns 19. It will be interesting to see if theyll be able to move this case into adult court and what exactly does that mean. But looking at this kids track record, even if they are able to move it into adult court, i think were going to hear and see about this particular individual again very shortly. Being in Law Enforcement, this has to drive you crazy, the fact that a kid like this can commit the crime that he committed, get the light sentence or nonsentence some would say, that he ultimately received, then go on the run, then get caught and then the system might only give him a maximum of 120 days in jail. That must drive you crazy. It does. It does drive you crazy. It would be nice to be able to charge the family for the amount of money it cost to investigate, locate and apprehend this individual, both with the Mexican Government put out, the what u. S. Government put out in this particular case. But it doesnt work that way. It is very frustrating. But i think in the end here, there will be some justice served at some point. Look, the kid may not end up in jail for that long but the mother could be in serious trouble here, yes . Yes, thats the odd twist here. The mother is looking at two to ten years for aiding and abetting this escape. So its kind of odd that he, you know, killed four people, these poor people and their family, what theyre going through right now, yet the mother who assisted in the escape is looking at a lot of possible time here. Art roderick for us on this case, gets stranger and stranger by the day. Ethan couch and his mother due back in texas within a few hours. Thanks so much. Thanks. The pentagon confirming that u. S. Led air strikes in syria have taken out top isis operative linked to the master mind of the paris terror attacks. Erin mclaughlin with more. Authorities say this man was planning new attacks. Reporter his name was charaffe al moudan. Hes believed to be 27 years old, having travelled from france to syria in 2013. Now a Coalition Spokesperson announcing they believe he was killed in a u. S. Air strike over syria on december 24th. They say that they believe he was in direct contact with abdel hamid abboud. They say french authorities believe that he was not in fact a senior isis leader but they do believe he was in contact with members of the paris attackers. Theyre still trying to determine the nature of his contact with those attackers, the nature of his involvement in the paris attacks which killed 130 people earlier this year and news of his death, of course, comes as the Obama Administration is trying to step up its campaign to broadcast its socalled wins against isis in order to assuage the American Public that its tactics against isis are working. Erin, well have further analysis on this coming up on new day. Thank you for that. Meantime, were watching this flooding in the midwest. Millions of people are in harms way. Well speak with two officials ahead trying to keep people safe in the face of a looming catastrophe. Ics in the nations largest independent study tested wireless performance across the country. Verizon, won big with 153 state wins. At t got 38, sprint got 2, and tmobile got zero. Verizon also won first in the us for data, call speed, and reliability. At t got. Text. Stuck on an average network . Join verizon and well cover your costs to switch. It takes a lot of work. But i really love it. S. Im on the move all day long. And sometimes, i just dont eat the way i should. So i drink boost® to get the nutrition that im missing. Boost complete nutritional drink has 26 essential vitamins and minerals, including calcium and vitamin d to support strong bones and 10 grams of protein to help maintain muscle. All with a great taste. I dont plan on slowing down any time soon. Look for savings on boost® in your sunday paper. Our top story, 18 Million People in over a dozen midwest states are facing historic flooding in the next 48 hours, rivers are already over their banks and are still rising. Many missouri residents remember the great flood of 1993. Thats when over 50,000 homes were destroyed across nine states along the missouri and the Mississippi Rivers. When the waters finally receded, losses totaled 15 billion, 47 people were dead. Forecasters are predicting the flooding were seeing in missouri right now could be worse than that. Joining us now, two people in charge with taking care of so many, russell ross, the city administrator and director of Emergency Management for union, missouri. Diane becker also is with us, the director of Emergency Management for the city of pacific. Thank you both for joining us. Obviously you both have memories of where we were 22 years ago in that very area. I want to talk to you, russell, first, about what is going on in your city, what is the situation and conditions right now for you . Well, this morning, the river crested yesterday and this morning i went on highway 50 no longer has water on it, however, its not open again. Its still closed, waiting for bridge inspections. But we are seeing the water starting to recede but its a very slow drop. What is your biggest concern right now . The temperatures really dropped overnight. Getting my sewer system back operational. Thats a big concern. And as soon as people water recedes, starting the cleanup in the residential areas and the businesses. Diane, lets talk about pacific. We understand the river is expected to crest there this evening, topping some 35 feet. Its likely to shatter records there, not records anyone wants to shatter. What is your biggest concern for area residents . Our biggest con