Flooding: Crop damage could spread

NEWHALL, Iowa, June 16 (UPI) -- Crop damage is mounting from flooding in Iowa and officials say they worry that Cedar River tributaries may spread high water to scores of other communities.

Flood waters receded in some parts of Iowa Sunday but rose in others, The New York Times reported.

Water receded in Cedar Rapids, where the Cedar River crested Friday at 31 feet, although streets were still flooded in much of downtown Cedar Rapids.

Officials said they were concerned that the river's tributaries would spill into the Mississippi River system, threatening scores of other communities, the newspaper said. The Mississippi is expected to crest as soon as the middle of this week.

One farmer, Dave Timmerman, said his farm has been flooded four times in the past month by overflow from Wildcat Creek, a Cedar River tributary.

Timmerman's newly planted corn is surrounded by pools of water and he hasn't been able to plant his soybeans because the soil is waterlogged, the newspaper said.

"It's going downhill by the day," he said.

The corn crop in Iowa at this time of year should be well on its way to maturity. Instead, the flooding has wiped out more than 1 million acres, the report said.