Midwest floodwaters could linger for weeks

0 Comments | AFP, June, 2008

CHICAGO (AFP) — The worst of the flooding that has ravaged the midwestern United States is nearly over, but it will be weeks before the murky water recedes in many areas, the National Weather service warned Monday.

Tens of thousands of people were evacuated from their homes in Iowa, Wisconsin, Illinois, Missouri and Indiana due to the heavy rains and deadly storms which swept through the region in recent weeks.

Early estimates place the damage in the billions as roads were washed out, rail and barge traffic shut down and millions of acres of crops were swamped.

Scores of levees collapsed or were overtopped by the rushing waters which swallowed entire towns.

The extreme weather which began May 25 and included a series of deadly tornadoes claimed the...