AMERICA:WHILE CITIES like Washington and New York have been baking in 36 degree temperatures this week, tornados and floods have driven thousands of people from their homes in the Great Plains of the midwest.
Iowa has been hit hardest, with 83 of the state's 99 counties declared disaster areas as nine rivers were at historic flood levels. In Cedar Rapids, residents of more than 3,000 homes fled to higher ground yesterday and a downtown hospital moved its patients to nursing homes outside the city.
Despite all the water in the town, there was very little for toilets, cleaning, or drinking and only one well was operating. "If we lost that one, we would be in serious trouble," said fire department spokesman Dave Koch. "Basically we are using more water than we are producing. We really need to reduce the amount of water we are using - even using paper plates, hand sanitisers."
Officials in Des Moines yesterday told residents and businesses to leave the city centre as the river continued to rise and about 300 volunteers and members of the Iowa Army National Guard worked to shore up a softening levee.
Four boy scouts were killed earlier this week when a tornado ripped through their camp in western Iowa and a dozen injured scouts were still in hospital yesterday. Ninety-three boys, all elite Scouts attending a week-long leadership training session, were at the camp near the border with Nebraska when the tornado hit.
They had heard the severe weather alerts but decided not to leave because a storm was on the way and the tornado destroyed the building where they had taken shelter. Surviving scouts, aged between 13 and 18, won warm praise for their heroism following the storm, including the rescue of a camp ranger and his family who were trapped in their home. "There were some real heroes at this Scout camp," said Iowa governor Chet Culver.
Although Iowa has suffered most, the flooding has closed roads and bridges and ruined crops across the midwest, affecting parts of Wisconsin, Illinois, Missouri, Indiana, Michigan and Nebraska.
Floods are slow-rolling disasters, so it may be weeks before the full damage can be assessed, but it is already clear that the cost will run into tens of billions of dollars.
Much of the midwest has avoided the economic problems affecting other parts of the United States and the downturn in house prices has not been as severe as elsewhere. Booming international demand for grain and higher prices for other foods have boosted farm incomes, but the floods will put a damper on incomes.
Planting of soy beans and corn have already been delayed and crops are expected to be smaller than usual.The economic impact of the flooding reaches beyond the Great Plains, as high water has disrupted shipping on the Mississippi river, an important conduit for everything from coal to food. This year is shaping up to be one of the most active American tornado seasons on record, with storms already killing more than 100 people.
Some commentators are blaming climate change for the record floods, but other experts say the disaster has been exacerbated by poor planning decisions and sheer greed.
Officials have tried for many years to limit development in areas prone to flooding but local governments, hungry for revenue from property taxes, have continued to approve construction. This means that huge areas of farmland and forests that once soaked up flood water are now covered in concrete for houses, roads, shopping malls and car parks.
Larry Larson, executive director of the Association of State Floodplain Managers, said Americans are also reaping the consequences of neglecting public infrastructure.
"We as a nation have ignored our infrastructure for the past 50 years. We haven't gone back to maintain the old roads and bridges and we just keep building new ones," he said.
"We've given up the public safety of existing structures in the name of economic development."
