Roads were reopened around St. Louis on Friday in wake of recent record-breaking floods in the Midwest that caused at least 20 deaths.

Suburbs in St. Louis were hit by tornadoes and a destructive storm last week that brought in 10 inches of rain in just three days. As a result, neighborhoods, schools and shopping centers in the St. Louis area have been submerged under water, along with parts of Interstate 70, 44 and 55, reports CNN.

The unprecedented flood water is also blamed for 20 deaths, 15 of which occurred in Missouri, alone. Meanwhile, two teenagers in Illinois and two men in southwest Missouri are still missing.

On the other hand, the city of St. Louis were kept remained mostly dry since it is shielded by a flood wall and a sloping geography protects the downtown area.

The southern suburbs, however, suffered significant damage. The biggest problem was the Meramec River, which is a smaller tributary of the Mississippi, reports The Salt Lake Tribune. As a result, a mandatory evacuation forced hundreds of people to abandon their homes and businesses in many southwest St. Louis suburbs, including Pacific, Eureka, Valley Park and Arnold. In addition, several hundred homes suffered from water damage.

Fortunately, the rare winter flood has started to recede by Friday, allowing some major roadways to reopen. In addition, the descending water levels have also allowed the Missouri Department of Transportation to reopen northbound lanes of Interstate 55 south of St. Louis on Thursday, just one day after they were closed. Southbound lanes were also opened on Friday morning.

Water also shrank from Interstate 44 following a two-day closure of a 24-mile stretch southwest of St. Louis. However, officials say other roads still need to be cleared for debris by crews before they can be reopened.

A state of emergency has been declared in Missouri.