Thousands forced out by US floods

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At least 24,000 people have been forced from their homes in Iowa by flooding, which has also severely damaged crops in America's main corn state.

Authorities issued mandatory evacuation orders as Cedar Rapids, Des Moines and other Iowa cities were partly deluged.

The disaster was triggered by storms blamed for at least nine deaths in the US Midwest this week.

South Dakota, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Nebraska, Illinois and Indiana have also been affected.

Iowa Governor Chet Culver has declared most of the Hawkeye State a disaster area.

In Illinois, local Senator Barack Obama was out helping local people fill sandbags on the banks of the Mississippi river at Quincy.

The authorities are predicting record water levels there in the coming days.

Crops ruined

The floods have wrecked the Midwest's corn and soybean crops, helping push already high food prices to record levels this week.

State capital Des Moines was dealing with its first major flooding on Saturday as water poured out of the Des Moines river when a levee gave way.

One of the worst affected areas is Cedar Rapids city, where 438 streets have been submerged and nearly 4,000 homes evacuated.

Officials in the city - which is the state's second largest with a population of about 120,000 - warn its drinking water supply is under threat.

The cost of the damage in Cedar Rapids alone has been estimated at $737m (£380m).

The Cedar river crested on Friday night at nearly 32ft (9.75m), 12ft (3.66m) higher than the previous record, set in 1929.

PHOTO CAPTION

Dennis Sloan prepares his dinner on his roof as floodwaters carry debris past his house in Cedar Rapids, Iowa June 13, 2008. (Reuters)

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