A huge tornado funnel cloud touches down in Orchard, Iowa, Tuesday, June 10, 2008 at 9:04 p.m. The Globe Gazette and Mitchell County Press News reported that Lori Mehmen of Orchard, took the photo from outside her front door. Mehmen said the funnel cloud came near the ground and then went back up into the clouds. Besides tree and crop damage, no human injuries were reported. (AP Photo/Lori Mehmen)

The rising Mississippi River has broken high-water records up and down the Iowa and Illinois shore, cresting as high as 12 feet above flood stage in some places. Estimates place the cost of the damage at over $1 billion dollars, and concerns are rising over crop damage, toxic remnants that were washed into neighborhoods, future mosquito invasions, and maintaining supplies of clean drinking water. Communities further downstream are bracing for possible flooding as well. ( 16 photos total



Waterloo, Iowa residents Daniel Tournier, right, and Otha Moore, left, watch the swollen Cedar River flow only a couple of feet below the 4th Street bridge in Waterloo, Iowa on Wednesday, June 11, 2008. (AP Photo/David K. Purdy)



Water from the swollen Cedar River rushes past downtown buildings Thursday, June 12, 2008, in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. Officials estimated that 100 blocks in Cedar Rapids were under water forcing the evacuation of nearly 4,000 homes and leaving cars underwater on downtown streets. (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson)



A Union Pacific bridge is partially swept away by high floodwaters on the Cedar River in downtown Waterloo, Iowa on Tuesday June 10, 2008. With rivers continuing to rise and more heavy rain on the way, state officials said Tuesday they are trying to help towns already battered by floodwaters while working to protect others. (AP Photo/The Waterloo Courier, Morgan Hawthorne)



Flood water from the Iowa River rages through farmland June 15, 2008 near Oakville, Iowa. The Iowa River broke through a levee yesterday completely flooding the town of Oakville and the surrounding farmland. (Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images)



A flooded street Thursday, June 12, 2008, in downtown Cedar Rapids, Iowa. Officials estimated that 100 blocks in Cedar Rapids were under water forcing the evacuation of nearly 4,000 homes and leaving cars underwater on downtown streets. (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson)



An aerial image of downtown shows flood-affected areas June 13, 2008 in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. Flooding along the Cedar River was expected to crest today. (Photo by David Greedy/Getty Images)



Flooded home are seen Saturday, June 14, 2008, in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. Days after it rose out of its banks on its way to record flooding in Cedar Rapids, the Cedar River has forced at least 24,000 people from their homes, emergency officials said Saturday. (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson)



A corn field is submerged in flood water June 16, 2008 near Oakville, Iowa. Farmers along the Mississippi River in Iowa have been emptying their grain bins and evacuating their livestock as they prepare for record flooding. (Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images)



Buildings and debris are seen floating in the Cedar River against a railroad bridge Saturday, June 14, 2008, in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. Days after it rose out of its banks on its way to record flooding in Cedar Rapids, the Cedar River has forced at least 24,000 people from their homes, emergency officials said Saturday. (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson)



Kitty Lake, owner of The Vine Restaurant, rides on the front of a boat while surveying the floodwaters on Highway 6, Friday, June 13, 2008 in Coralville, Iowa. (AP Photo/Iowa City Press-Citizen, Matthew Holst)



William Kimpton, left, and Ben Walker, both of Cedar Rapids, Iowa, wade through floodwaters in Cedar Rapids, Iowa on Thursday afternoon, June 12, 2008. 3,900 homes were evacuated from Cedar Rapids, where rescuers removed people with boats, officials estimated 100 blocks were underwater, and a railroad bridge over the flooded Cedar River collapsed. (AP Photo/Iowa City Gazette, Jonathan D. Woods)



Cattle were herded onto a porch and left to avoid drowning by the rising water from the Cedar River Wednesday June 11, 2008 along the river north of Vinton, Iowa. Flood waters have inundated the electric plant in Vinton and the entire city is now without power. Officials are preparing for the Cedar River to crest at record levels all across the state. (AP Photo/Steve Pope)



A sign is completely submerged along a road north of Vinton, Iowa, as water from the Cedar River continues to rise Wednesday June 11, 2008 in Vinton, Iowa. Flood waters have inundated the electric plant in Vinton and the entire city is now without power. Officials are preparing for the Cedar River to crest at record levels all across the state. (AP Photo/Steve Pope)



An angry resident that tried to drive around a security checkpoint is stopped by one police officer, right, while another tries to break his window to extract him in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, Monday, June 16, 2008. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)



Brandon Smith carries his two cats, Fry and Bender, to dry land from their flooded and evacuated home on June 12, 2008 in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. Much of the city has been evacuated as the Cedar River continues to rise to record levels. More rains are predicted over the next few days. (Photo by David Greedy/Getty Images)



Links and more information:

Flood Coverage - Des Moines Register

A Town That Looked at Leaving the Floodplain but Stayed On - NYTimes.com, 6/17

27 levees could overflow if sandbags fail - boston.com 6/17

Iowa flooding a toxic threat, officials say - boston.com 7/17

National Weather Service weather (and flood) alerts for Iowa, Illinois and Missouri.