Traffic cones block off a portion of U.S. Highway 60 submerged by floodwaters east of Springfield, Missouri, on March 19.

The heavy rains that pounded the Midwest in recent days also forced the closure of the eastbound lanes of major east-west highway Interstate 70, due to high waters in central Ohio's Licking County.

Residents across the country are now bracing for a new round of danger, as record rainfall and melting snow send rivers cresting well beyond their boundaries. Flooding could strike much of the Mississippi River basin, the Ohio River basin, the lower Missouri River basin, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, most of New York, all of New England, and portions of the West, including Colorado and Idaho, the Associated Press reported.

"American citizens should be on high alert to flood conditions in your communities. Arm yourselves with information about how to stay safe during a flood and do not attempt to drive on flooded roadways," Vickie Nadolski, deputy director of the National Weather Service told the AP.

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