The swollen Mississippi River ran over the top of a levee near Meyer, Illinois, today as floodwaters swallowed up more farmland and sent corn prices to a record high.
The US Army Corps of Engineers said the latest levee break brought the total number of compromised levees to 11 on the most important US inland waterway. The river overtopped the levee at 1 am CDT (0600 GMT), said spokesman Ron Fournier.
"We basically have about three dozen levee systems we're concerned about overtopping as the river continues to rise," he said.
A local watches from her apartment as the flooding Mississippi River flows past behind a wall of sandbags
The slow-rolling disaster, the worst US Midwest floods for 15 years, has flooded vast sections of the US farm belt.
Estimates are that 5 million acres have been ruined and will not produce a crop this year. That has sent US grain and livestock soaring, along with food price inflation worries.
The Army Corps of Engineers, which operates US river locks and dams, yesterday identified 26 levees protecting about 285,000 acres of prime cropland were already under high water or were at high risk of flooding. Another seven were seen as potential risks.
Iowa and Illinois usually produce one-third of all US corn and soybeans. So the potential damage for smaller crops from the main sources of livestock feed, renewable fuels like ethanol, starch and edible oils has sent commodity prices to record highs.
Drier weather since Sunday has helped the worst-flooded areas of Iowa, Illinois and Wisconsin to dry out. But as rivers have receded, the run-off has swollen the south-bound rush of the Mississippi, leading to more flooding and stress on levees. Weather forecasters said thunderstorms may return to Iowa and Illinois from tomorrow.