At least 24 people were killed and 35,000 were displaced from their homes as floods devastated areas along the Mississippi River in the Upper Midwest over the past two weeks. Iowa was hardest hit, with levees throughout its stretch of the Mississippi failing to hold back the torrent of water. Downstream, particularly in southern Missouri, many towns appear to have been spared as water that might have breached or topped their levees exited the river through the breached levees upstream.

With no new levee breaks since Friday to relieve the flow of the Mississippi, river levels rose over the weekend north of St. Louis. Water levels now seem to have stabilized and may soon be going down in some of these areas. However, other areas further south remain threatened.

This is the biggest Midwest flooding event since the record-setting floods of 1993.

Stay tuned for a future issue of PIA National Newsline for additional information about these floods, predicted crop loss and insurance industry losses.

Levees Hold Back Cresting Mississippi River; Aid Requests Mount (Insurance Journal June 23, 2008)

June 24, 2008