By Nick Carey
FORT MADISON, Iowa (Reuters) - The Mississippi River surgedup through storm drains and flooded part of an eastern Iowariver town on Tuesday as the worst Midwest floods in 15 yearsruined cropland and drove up world food prices.
"There is nowhere for the water to go, so it's floodingthese areas," said Lee County official Steve Cirinna, pointingto pools forming amid historic brick houses in Fort Madison.
Volunteers and National Guard troops helped reinforce orraise levees on both sides of the river seeking to protectlow-lying businesses, water supplies, and prime farmlandplanted with increasingly valuable crops.
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers estimated that 26 leveesprotecting about 285,000 acres of prime cropland were eitheralready yielding to high water or at high risk of doing incoming days as record floodwaters from Iowa and farther northdrained down the Mississippi, the main U.S. inland waterway.
Across the river from Burlington, Iowa, a levee broke inGulfport, Illinois, sending muddy waters cascading onto nearbyfarmland and a few homes. Although sandbagging was going on, noone was injured. Authorities closed the river bridge and road.
Corn and soybean prices closed near record highs aftermillions of acres of U.S. cropland were lost or damaged in theheart of the world's largest grain exporter. Cattle and hogfutures prices also hit new highs, with soaring feed costsexpected to prompt farmers to cull livestock numbers.
"We've faced some pressure this year, but there could begreater pressure next year on food inflation when proteinprices start to increase," said Bill Lapp, a food industryconsultant and former chief economist at Conagra Inc.
AID PROMISED
U.S. President George W. Bush promised aid to the strickenregion, where farm and business losses are expected to be inthe billions of dollars. Bush will visit Iowa on Thursday.
"I, unfortunately, have been to too many disasters aspresident," Bush said after a briefing on the flooding.
But Sen. Robert Byrd, a West Virginia Democrat, said littlehad been done to prevent flooding and Bush had learned nothingfrom Hurricane Katrina and other disasters.
"President Bush has asserted that investing in America'sneeds is somehow 'wasteful' and his budget, which does not addone thin dime for a boost in levee funding, reflects thissentiment," Byrd said.
Iowa Gov. Chet Culver said he welcomed word that the U.S.House of Representatives will include $2 billion for Midwestflood aid in a spending bill to be discussed this week.
"The damage will total in the billions of dollars," hesaid.
Meanwhile, hundreds of National Guard troops and volunteersjoined in sandbagging efforts across the Midwest. In additionto Iowa and Illinois, flooding has struck Indiana, Kansas,Missouri, Minnesota and Wisconsin.
"We have quite a wall of water coming our way," said JohnSpring, mayor of Quincy, Illinois. "Flooding is all part oflife along the river ... but this time we are better preparedfor it."
The main cities along the affected stretch of river --Quincy, and Keokuk and Burlington, Iowa -- perch on bluffs orhillsides. The cities' drinking water and some businessesremain at risk as receding flood waters in Iowa and elsewhereflow rapidly southward.
FINANCIAL LOSSES MOUNT
Comparisons have been made to the major 1993 Midwest floodsthat caused more than $20 billion in damage and 48 deaths. Thismonth's inundation has caused a few deaths, with Iowa hardesthit. But the physical damage has yet to be totalled.
Corn prices at the Chicago Board of Trade soared above $8 abushel for the first time on Monday and stayed near there onTuesday amid fears midwestern farmers will not be able to growanything on as many as 5 million acres (2 million hectares).
The closing of the mid-Mississippi River to barge trafficis costing freight carriers $1 million or more per day.
"In 1993, there were months of delays," said Larry Daily,president of Alter Barge Line Inc in Bettendorf, Iowa. "Thistime, it's going to be shut down two weeks if we don't get anymore rain -- longer if it rains again."
The Mississippi River is the main channel for grain flowingfrom farms in the Midwest to export terminals at the Gulf ofMexico. It carried 68 million tonnes of farm goods in 2006.
The problems add up to more food inflation for not justU.S. consumers, but also dozens of countries that buy U.S.grain. The United States exports 54 percent of the world'scorn, 36 percent of its soybeans and 23 percent of its wheat.
The weather was cooperating, with only a slight chance ofthunderstorms in southeastern Iowa on Wednesday.
(Additional reporting by Lisa Shumaker, Peter Bohan andChristine Stebbins in Chicago, and David Alexander inWashington; Writing by Andrew Stern, editing by Doina Chiacu )
