Mississippi Flood overflows banks, crops destroyed*

18 Jun 2008 21:39:52 GMT
Source: Reuters

*22 Mississippi River levees overflow so far

*Battle on to save rich farmland, cool food inflation

*More rains in upper Midwest may present fresh threat

By Nick Carey

FORT MADISON, Iowa, June 18 (Reuters) - The swollen Mississippi River
ran over the top of at least 12 more levees on Wednesday, as floodwaters
swallowed up more U.S. farmland, adding to billion-dollar losses and
feeding global food inflation fears.

Volunteers and aid workers were piling sandbags up and down the most
important U.S. inland waterway to try to protect more levees and
thousands of acres of prime crop land threatened as the river's crest
moves south after last week's torrential rains.

About 10 levees were breached earlier this week, bringing the total to
22 on Wednesday. The levee breaches lowered the river level by letting
water spill onto the surrounding land.

"Their misfortune had been our fortune. I'd rather it hadn't come at the
expense of others. But it is what it is," said Steve Cirinna of Iowa's
Lee County Emergency Management Agency.

Across the river at Dallas City, Illinois, about 50 sandbaggers made up
of volunteers and National Guard troops were busy working ahead of the
expected river crest overnight.

"We've had a little relief because the levee breaches lowered the river
level a little. But it's coming up again. We're not done yet. This
evening will be critical," said Kathy Dougherty of the Hancock County
Emergency Services Agency.

The slow-rolling disaster, the worst flooding in the Midwest in 15
years, has swamped vast sections of the U.S. farm belt and forced tens
of thousands of people from their homes.

The cost of the disaster may end up rivaling that of 1993 Midwest floods
that caused more than $20 billion in damage and 48 deaths. This month's
flooding has caused few deaths, with Iowa hardest hit. But the damage
has yet to be fully assessed.

The prospects of smaller crops have already jolted commodity markets,
food producers and exporters. Chicago Board of Trade corn prices traded
at a record $8.07 a bushel.

The floods will mean more food inflation, not only for U.S. consumers,
but also for dozens of countries that buy American grain. The United
States exports 54 percent of the world's corn, 36 percent of its
soybeans and 23 percent of its wheat.

RIVER FLOODING MOVES SOUTH

LeRoy Lippert, chairman of emergency management committee for Des Moines
County, Iowa, said volunteers and aid workers in the town of Burlington
filled 2.5 million sandbags in the past week before the river crested.

"All systems are holding right now. We're in a watch and wait mode with
our levees. The situation has stabilized in the last 24 hours," Lippert
said.

"The best news is that we're not getting any rain, that would be utterly
devastating if we got heavy rain now."

The National Weather Service said scattered thunderstorms were forecast
for Wednesday night in western Iowa, although severe weather was not
expected.

The Army Corps of Engineers, which operates river locks and dams, said
22 levees along the Mississippi had failed with the latest levee breaks
near Meyer, Illinois, near St. Louis, Missouri and just north of Quincy,
Illinois.

"They were lower level agricultural levees," said St Louis district
Corps spokesman Alan Dooley.

The Corps has identified 48 levees protecting more than 285,000 acres of
cropland from Dubuque, Iowa, to St Louis that were already under water
or at high risk of flooding.

Among the most fertile farms in Iowa and Illinois have land that lies in
the Mississippi River's vast flood plain.

"Some of the richest farmland is to be found between the river and the
bluff and we aim to protect it," said Lippert.

Estimates are that 5 million acres across the Midwest have been ruined
and will not produce a crop this year.

Iowa and Illinois usually produce one-third of all U.S. corn and
soybeans. Expectations of reduced crops from the main sources of
livestock feed, renewable fuels like ethanol, starch and edible oils has
sent commodity prices to record highs.

"We continue to get news of more acreage losses because of the flooding
and that continues to support the market," said Mario Balletto,
Chicago-based grains analyst for Citigroup.