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Mississippi River breaks through a levee as floodwaters pour into Illinois

The rising Mississippi River broke through a levee, inundating thousands of hectares of farmland, as floodwaters moved south into Illinois and Missouri. At least seven people have died in the worst flooding in a decade in some areas.

But even as the water jeopardized scores of additional homes and businesses, officials said the damage could have been worse if the federal government had not taken steps to clear flood-prone land after historic floods in 1993.

The flooding, which has claimed at least five lives in Iowa and two in Wisconsin over the past week, has resulted in thousands being forced from their homes.

On Tuesday, the flooding halted car travel over two bridges linking Illinois and Iowa and covered the tiny farming community of Gulfport and the surrounding area with 3m of water.

“I’m not going back after this one,” 83-year-old Lois Russell said as she watched water surround her house near Gulfport.

It was the third time she had fled her home because of flooding since 1965.

“It was a good place to raise my seven kids,” she said, crying.

The area was inundated after the Mississippi River, the US’ main internal commercial waterway, broke through a levee near Gulfport. Authorities had to rescue at least a half a dozen people by helicopter, boat and four-wheeler.

US President George W. Bush, whose administration was sharply criticized for its handling of the situation in the wake of the 2005 Hurricane Katrina along the US Gulf Coast, was briefed on the damage and plans to visit the area today.

A 6.4m railway outside Gulfport broke in four sections on Tuesday night, sending flood waters into the evacuated town. Henderson County Sheriff Mark Lumbeck said Gulfport has about 3m of water.

Preliminary estimates were that the flooding has caused more than US$1.5 billion in damage in Iowa, and that figure will undoubtedly rise as the high water moves downstream.

Still, officials said the cost would have been even higher if the federal government had not purchased low-lying land after the 1993 deluge, which caused US$12 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, such as Rhineland, Missouri, and Valmeyer, Illinois.

In Iowa, FEMA spent US$1.6 million to buy out residents of Elkport, population 80, and then knock down the village’s remaining buildings. Some residents moved to Garber, Elkport’s twin city across the Turkey River, but others abandoned the area.

On Tuesday, flooding remained far more serious in parts of southeast Iowa, where the Mississippi River had yet to crest.
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