All people in the USA will be economically affected by these floods.


"I have real concerns about our agricultural sector. I have toured the state and seen the devastation to our crops," [Iowa Gov. Chet] Culver said.

Iowa is usually the top U.S. corn and soybeans growing state and is a major producer of hogs and cattle.

Crop losses could spur price rises for everything from food to fuels, like corn-based ethanol, and play into growing fears of inflation threatening the already battered U.S. economy"
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20080613/ts_nm/usa_flooding_dc

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Here are additional excerpts from that article:

"The flooding led authorities to close the upper Mississippi River to barge traffic, and commerce on a 300-mile stretch of the most important U.S. waterway may be shut down for weeks.

An epic 1993 Midwest flood swamped several cities in Iowa, Missouri and neighboring states, killing 48 people and caused $21 billion in losses.

Along with torrential rains, the Midwest has been struck by several tornadoes, adding to the highest U.S. death toll from twisters in a decade. A tornado on Wednesday killed four teenage boys at a scout camp in western Iowa.

OTHER STATES SWAMPED

Flooding has also swamped parts of Minnesota, Illinois, Wisconsin, Missouri, Kansas and Indiana. Officials in Indiana have reported three flood-related deaths.

Three deaths have been reported in Iowa.

"The Mississippi was expected to crest in St. Louis in eight days at a level below the peak seen in the 1993 flood, which prompted buy-outs of many riverfront properties and the construction of higher levees and more secure flood walls...

Scores of highways across the region were closed by flooding, turning short trips into lengthy detours.

Farmers across the region hoped for a break in the parade of storms that have swamped thousands of acres of planted fields or prevented them from planting anything".

Corn rose to record highs for the seventh session in a row at the Chicago Board of Trade, and soybean meal prices soared to a 35-year high on concerns of processing plant shutdowns".