Authorities in eastern Kansas’ say a 56-year-old man drowned after his car was swept away by floodwaters caused by thunderstorms that pummeled the region.

The Miami County Sheriff’s Office said in a news release Tuesday that the body of Robert Dean Schoenhals of Pleasanton was found about 2 1/2 hours after the accident.

Authorities say a deputy saw Schoenhals try to drive through high standing water on a highway shortly before 4:50 a.m. when the car hydroplaned off the road and entered a ditch with deep, rushing water.

The Sheriff’s Office says the car was found unoccupied about 45 minutes later some 150 yards from where it first entered the water. Schoenhals’ body was found about 7:20 a.m., about 75 yards from his vehicle.

Rain in the region prompted rescues of stranded motorists and others who scrambled to safety atop rooftops.