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US Midwest reeling under floods as toll crosses 20
Floodwaters breached two levees in western Illinois and the US government said up to 30 more could overflow along the Mississippi River.
- AP
- Published: 00:08 June 20, 2008
- Image Credit: EPA
- In Iowa, officials estimate that 17 per cent of corn and soyabean crops have either been destroyed or were never planted this spring.
Illinois: Floodwaters breached two levees in western Illinois and the US government said up to 30 more could overflow along the Mississippi River. The warnings provided more unwelcome news for residents in the US Midwest, a region where flooding across six states has been blamed for over 20 deaths and the evacuations of thousands of people.
Wednesday's breaches flooded farmland near the hamlet of Meyer and south of there in the Indian Graves levee district, Adams County Emergency Management Agency spokeswoman Julie Shepard said.
Meyer, a town of 40 to 50 people, had to be evacuated, and authorities patrolled the town on Wednesday morning to make sure no one was left behind, she said. Flooding around Meyer could swamp 12,140 hectares - or about 122 square kilometres - in the largely rural area, Shepard said.
Areas at risk
Twenty levees have already overflowed this week, the Army Corps of Engineers said. The other levees could overflow if sandbagging efforts fail to raise the levees' levels.
The levees in danger protect rural, industrial and agricultural areas - not heavily populated towns. The levees protecting large towns are not as at risk of overflowing, officials said.
Since June 6, there have been 24 deaths and 148 injuries because of the storms and flooding, according to federal briefing documents.
Flooding that began about a week ago in eastern Iowa caused more than $1.5 billion (Dh5.5 billion) in damage as it crept south toward the Mississippi. In the worst flooding in the state since a historic 1993 deluge, about 25,000 people in Cedar Rapids were forced from their homes, 19 buildings at the University of Iowa were flooded and water treatment plants in several cities were put out of action.
Preventative measures
But even as the water threatened scores of homes and businesses, officials said the damage could have been worse if the federal government had not purchased low-lying land after historic floods in 1993 that caused $12 billion (Dh44 billion) in damage.
Since then, the government bought out more than 9,000 homeowners, turning much of the land into parks and undeveloped areas that can be allowed to flood with less risk. The Federal Emergency Management Agency (Fema) has moved or flood-proofed about 30,000 properties. The effort required whole communities to be moved.
Reports of raw sewage and farm runoff in floodwaters raised concerns about public health. But experts said most people are intelligent enough to avoid the tainted water.
The rising water forced the closure of the Mississippi bridge in Burlington and stopped car traffic on the bridge in Fort Madison, both in southeastern Iowa. The bridge's railroad tracks remained open.
A bridge downriver in Keokuk also remained open.
To the north in Cedar Rapids, floodwaters had dropped enough that officials let hundreds of people return to their damaged homes and businesses.
The federal government has provided more than 2.8 million litres) of water, 150 generators, more than 213,000 meals, 13 million sandbags and 4,000 rolls of plastic sheeting, according to Fema and Army Corps tallies.
More than 28,000 people have registered for Fema disaster assistance.
Fema Director R. David Paulison said only 9 per cent of those who registered have flood insurance. Those without flood insurance are limited in what federal assistance they can receive.
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