Mississippi River Towns Brace for the Worst

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Bush to Visit Iowa Flood Site

President Bush announced on Tuesday that he will travel to Iowa on Thursday to inspect flood damage.

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The Mississippi has been closed to commercial traffic for an almost 300-mile stretch for more than five days since record river levels overwhelmed locks. River- and lake-related tourism has been halted, a severe blow for towns that rely primarily on farming and tourism to survive.

Many farmers in this area have no flood insurance, having thought they were outside areas that would flood. The low-lying region around Gulfport flooded in 1965 and 1993, but the current inundation is much greater, according to local residents.

Lois Russell, 83, was surrounded by four generations of family as she watched floodwaters cover her hundreds of acres of corn and soybean fields. Old cornstalks bobbed in the water as it rose several inches a minute on the road where Russell stood, a road that normally would have led to her house over a mile away. "That's it for this summer," she said. "I had just installed an irrigation system under one of those fields. It was not even used. I guess I won't need it now."

The loss of crops across the Midwest has helped push corn prices to record highs in the past seven days. It could be weeks before fields can be pumped dry.

At the White House, Bush assured Midwesterners that the federal government will provide short-term help with housing. He said Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff will set up a task force to provide long-term help for people to get back into their homes.

"I've unfortunately been to too many disasters as president," he said. "But one thing I've always learned is that the American citizen can overcome these disasters."

Branigin reported from Washington.