• DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) -- Several cities in northwest Iowa dealt Wednesday with the fallout of the worst flooding they've ever seen while others downstream on the Rock, Big Sioux and Missouri rivers were bracing for the high water to surge above flood stage, some to record high crests.
• Rock Rapids, which has 3,000 residents 32 miles southeast of Sioux Falls, South Dakota, lost its water supply Tuesday when the treatment plan was overrun by river water. But Mayor Jason Chase said the system is back online and he's awaiting results from tests to ensure the water is safe to drink again.
• About 60 homes have had water waist deep or higher in them, Chase said, and many have shifted from their foundations or have damaged basement walls.
• "This is the worst I've seen and I've been here since 1997," he said. Several families remain in a Red Cross shelter, Chase said.
• In 1993, the river level was estimated at about 25 feet, but gauges hadn't yet been installed for accurate measurements. On Tuesday, the Rock River crested at nearly 27 feet, but was receding Wednesday.
• Gov. Terry Branstad and Iowa Homeland Security and Emergency Management Department Director Mark Schouten surveyed damage in Rock Rapids and Rock Valley on Wednesday.
• Rock Valley, about 20 miles southwest of Rock Rapids, requested pumps and sandbagging materials from the state after a levee broke on Tuesday night. The river is receding, but a local shelter still is available for residents needing to leave their homes.
• The Big Sioux River is setting record flood levels at Howarden and Akron where it peaked Tuesday. A levee also was breached in Akron, causing several residents to be evacuated late Tuesday night and early Wednesday. The city is pumping out floodwaters to protect City Hall and other buildings.
• Officials in North Sioux City, South Dakota, and Sioux City, Iowa, plan to close floodgates on the large earthen levee that protects both cities from Big Sioux floodwaters, the Sioux City Journal reported.
• "We're definitely preparing for the worst," North Sioux City economic development director Kory Menken told the newspaper.
• The river is expected to crest at 109 feet -- 10 feet above the height where flood

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