Catastrophic floods devastated farms and towns in Nebraska and Iowa on Tuesday after leaving at least four people dead and causing hundreds of millions of dollars in damages, with waters yet to crest in parts of the US Midwest for several days. The floods inundated stretches of the two farm states along the Missouri River, North America's longest river. Nearly half of Iowa's 99 counties have been declared disaster areas. The floods followed a powerful winter hurricane that slammed into America's Farm Belt last week, killing untold numbers of livestock, destroying grains and soybeans in storage, and cutting off access to farms due to road and rail damage. (Reuters Photo) -
Vice President Mike Pence inspects the destruction across the Midwest in a helicopter flight over areas affected by the flooding of the Missouri and Elkhorn Rivers in Nebraska. (AP Photo)
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A bridge was washed out during a recent flood near Waterloo, Nebraska, US. (Reuters Photo)
Flooding is expected throughout the week in several states as high water levels flow down the Missouri River. (AP Photo) -
Nebraska, Iowa and Wisconsin have all declared states of emergency in the floods, which stem from a powerful winter hurricane known as a "bomb cyclone" that slammed into the US Farm Belt last week, killing untold numbers of livestock, destroying grains and soybeans in storage, and cutting off access to farms because of road and rail damage. (Reuters Photo)
Authorities said they had rescued nearly 300 people in Nebraska alone, with some rivers continuing to rise. (AP Photo) -
In Brownville, Nebraska, floodwaters lapped at the edge of the small town of 132 people, closing the main bridge across the Missouri River. (Reuters Photo)
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In Hamburg, Iowa, floodwaters covered buildings. (Reuters Photo)
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In Niobrara, Nebraska, south of the Missouri River near the border with South Dakota, Mayor Jody Stark said flooding that began on Thursday had devastated his community of 350 people, with businesses being the hardest hit. (AP Photo)
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A section of road is underwater stranding a vehicle after flooding near Waterloo, Nebraska, US. (Reuters Photo)
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The floodwaters were the result of snowmelt following heavy rains last week and warm weather, said Bob Oravec, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service's Weather Prediction Center. (Reuters Photo)
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Nebraska officials estimate more than $1 billion in flood damage for the state's agricultural sector so far, according to Craig Head, vice president of issue management at the Nebraska Farm Bureau. (AP Photo)
Swollen rivers have already breached more than a dozen levees in Nebraska, Iowa and Missouri, according to the Army Corps of Engineers. (AP Photo) 
The flooding, which started after a massive late-winter storm last week, has also put some hog farms in southwest Iowa underwater. (AP Photo) -
In all, Nebraska Farm Bureau President Steve Nelson estimated $400 million of crop losses from fields left unplanted or planted late and up to $500 million in livestock losses. (AP Photo)
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