Backwater from the swelling Mississippi River slowly encroaches on downtown Vicksburg, Mississippi

Backwater from the swelling Mississippi River slowly encroaches on downtown Vicksburg, Mississippi May 13, 2011. Scores of U.S. heartland rivers from the Dakotas to Ohio have flooded following a snowy winter and heavy spring rains, feeding near-record crests on the lower Mississippi River. REUTERS/Sean Gardner (UNITED STATES - Tags: DISASTER ENVIRONMENT)

SEAN GARDNER / Reuters

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