In pictures: Midwest under water

People along the Mississippi River in the US Midwest have been desperately reinforcing 27 levees at risk of overflowing, as flooding threatens their towns.

In Iowa, National Guard troops have been mobilised to help tackle the flood danger.

In some areas, the local Amish community has been helping with the sandbagging.

Despite the work of residents of Gulfport, Illinois, the levee there burst, sending torrents of water into the town.

The flood water left parts of Gulfport cut off from the neighbouring town of Burlington, on the Iowa side of the river.

Upstream, the flooding has devastated crops, helping push the price of corn up to $8 (�4) a bushel.

One of the worst-hit towns so far has been Cedar Rapids, Iowa, where residents are returning to tackle the damage.

Some residents lived through record floods in 1993, only to be hit again this year.