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After the Deluge: Tallying Massive Costs
Food prices may rise for years to come
By Peter Fearon
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Posted Jun 30, 08 2:54 AM CDT
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(Newser)
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Floods that ravaged the Midwest have begun to subside—but the massive costs of weeks of rising water have only begun to be counted. The floods killed 24 people, left 38,000 homeless and destroyed billions of dollars of crops. The losses are likely to trigger food shortages and push up prices for years to come.
Damages to some 340 towns in the worst flooding in 15 years is likely to reach into the tens of billions of dollars as residents deal with the emotional toll. "We're just mentally and physically exhausted," said a Missouri resident who fled her home for a shelter when flood waters engulfed her neighborhood. "I've cried all I can cry."