A levee in Missouri that was holding back the flood waters of the Mississippi River broke early this morning, the US Army Corps of Engineers said.
The levee at Winfield broke at its south end at 5.20am local time despite sandbagging to increase its height.
Officials said the levee, which protects about 3,000 acres of agricultural land along with a few dozen homes, had been reinforced over the past week.
It was the 36th levee to be overcome by water in the past 10 days or so along the Mississippi as the river swelled after torrential rains further north.
The Midwest storms and torrential rains have killed 24 persons since late May. More than 38,000 people have been displaced from their homes, mostly in Iowa where 83 of 99 counties have been declared disaster areas.
Fears that as much as five million acres of corn and soybeans have been lost due to the flooding pushed corn and livestock prices to record highs.
On Thursday, Chicago Board of Trade corn for July 2009 delivery set another record high at $8.22 a bushel, more than double the 40-year average for corn prices.
Corn is the main feed for meat animals, main source for ethanol fuel, and used in hundreds of other food and industrial products.