Along with torrential rains, the Midwest has been struck by several tornadoes, adding to the highest U.S. death toll from twisters in a decade. A tornado on Wednesday killed four teenage boys at a scout camp in western Iowa.
OTHER STATES SWAMPED
Flooding has also swamped parts of Minnesota, Illinois, Wisconsin, Missouri, Kansas and Indiana. Officials in Indiana have reported three flood-related deaths.
Three deaths have been reported in Iowa.
"We've been in a flood fight pretty consistently for 10 days now," said Bret Voorhees, a spokesperson for Iowa Homeland Security and Emergency Management.
National Guard troops and prisoners have joined residents in Iowa to pile up millions of sandbags to raise or buttress weakened levees.
The Cedar River's anticipated crest was at least a dozen feet higher than the level reached in 1993 and had broken a 157-year-old record.
Power outages affected 27,000 Iowa homes and businesses, with several grain and meat processing plants shut down.
The Mississippi was expected to crest in St. Louis in eight days at a level below the peak seen in the 1993 flood, which prompted buy-outs of many riverfront properties and the construction of higher levees and more secure flood walls.
Scores of highways across the region were closed by flooding, turning short trips into lengthy detours.
Farmers across the region hoped for a break in the parade of storms that have swamped thousands of acres of planted fields or prevented them from planting anything.
Corn rose to record highs for the seventh session in a row at the Chicago Board of Trade, and soybean meal prices soared to a 35-year high on concerns of processing plant shutdowns.
In Wisconsin, overnight storms caused rivers to rise further, forcing evacuations and rescues - some by World War Two-era amphibious vehicles, called "Ducks," that were diverted to rescue work from carrying tourists.
