Family stranded on roof for eight hours as US floods turn deadly

A family has been left stranded on the roof of their home as floods ravaged the US state of Missouri.

Video shows three adults and four children atop a residence in the Kansas City suburb Overland Park on Tuesday (local time).

Murky flood water from the Blue River can be seen swirling around the home, as cars and power poles surrounding the property are partially submerged.

Firefighters had reportedly been waiting for the waters to recede before making any move to assist the family down from their makeshift perch.

The family’s eight-hour ordeal came to an end when a civilian came to the rescue with a military-style truck, and helped the stranded people to safety.

Local authorities have confirmed one man has died in the floods, which were linked to powerful thunderstorms.

The body of Robert Dean Schoenhals, 56,  was found about two hours after an officer reported seeing the man trying to try to drive through an a highway inundated with flood water in Kansas’ Miami County.

To the north-east in Kansas City, police and fire departments reported receiving more than 130 calls for water rescues during the storms that stretched from Monday night into the next morning.

As much as 22 centimetres of rain fell on one city neighbourhood during the storm. A large portion of the region received 10 to 15 centimetres of rain.

Parts of the creek rose to nearly one metre above the previous record from June 2010, according to the National Weather Service.

But river levels were quickly receding later on Tuesday across the region, according to the weather service's website.

The flooding prompted several schools in the region to either cancel Tuesday's classes or delay the start of them. In some cases, schools cited busing issues linked to the flooding.

With AP