Swollen Mississippi River breaks levees, more at risk

The swollen Mississippi River ran over the top of at least nine more levees yesterday as floodwaters swallowed up more US farmland, feeding inflation fears as corn prices soared to a record high.

The US Army Corps of Engineers said a levee broke near Meyer, Illinois, leaving more than 17,000 acres of prime farmland at risk from the floodwaters.

The rising river also ran over the tops of eight more levees north of St. Louis overnight, bringing the total number of compromised levees on the most important US inland waterway to 19.