The rising Mississippi River interrupted travel on two bridges between Iowa and Illinois and threatened thousands of acres of farmland.
People stacked millions of sandbags near 27 levees the federal government said were in danger of overflowing.
The river blew a massive hole in a levee on Tuesday near the farming community of Gulfport, near the state's northern border with Illinois, at about 5 a.m., covering at least 2,023 hectares of farmland by late on Tuesday morning, Henderson County Chief Deputy Donald Seitz said.
More than 4,047 hectares could eventually flood, he said.
The break forced the closure of the Great River Bridge that connects Gulfport to Burlington, Iowa, via US Highway 34.
Two people who were working on the levee were rescued by boat, said Henderson County Sheriff Mark Lumbeck.
Three other people were lifted by helicopter from a rooftop, and seven others climbed onto a 4-wheeler and sped down a railroad track as the levee gave way, Lumbeck said.
Gulfport, a town of about 200, remains dry but was evacuated because of concerns about a second levee to the north where seepage was discovered, Lumbeck said.
The Illinois governor's office originally reported more than a dozen people had to be rescued by helicopter.
About 32 kilometers down the river from Gulfport, the BNSF Railway Co swing span bridge was closed early Tuesday to car traffic at Fort Madison, Iowa, near the Iowa-Illinois line, Lee County emergency management director Steve Cirinna said.
The bridge hadn't closed to trains, BNSF Railway Co spokesman Steve Forsberg said.
Source: By DDNEWS
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