June 24 (Bloomberg) -- The Mississippi River was forecast to remain at flood stage for another month as cities north of St. Louis battled the deluge and water breached another levee in the area, according to federal officials.

At the Elm Point levee in St. Charles, Missouri, about 18 miles (29 kilometers) north of St. Louis, the waterway overtopped and then breached the barrier today, and workers fought to save the Pin Oak levee near Winfield, Missouri, according to the Army Corps of Engineers. The swollen river has flowed over or broken through more than a dozen levees in the past few weeks.

``We're going to have to remain vigilant and watchful through all of this,'' Nicole Dalrymple, a spokeswoman for the Army Corps, said by telephone from St. Louis. ``The river could be out of its banks in the St. Louis area for up to a month.''

Floods and severe weather have killed at least 24 people in the Midwest since late May and submerged 3.4 million acres, an area almost five times larger than Rhode Island. The Federal Emergency Management Agency has received 44,967 requests for aid and has paid out $81 million to homeowners starting to rebuild.

Rainfall of as much as 15 inches (38 centimeters) in parts of Iowa in the past month has left the soil so saturated it is still draining, said Ben Miller, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service.

Crest Expected

``We could be at flood stage for a month,'' Miller said from St. Louis. ``There is just a lot of water and it is going to take a period of time for the water to drain out of the system.''

The river is expected to crest at about 37.1 feet (11.3 meters) today in Winfield, about 36 miles north of St. Louis, falling short of the 1993 record of 39.6 feet, according to the National Weather Service Web site. Flood stage is 26 feet at this point on the river.

Residents of Winfield have been piling up sandbags in an attempt to save the Pin Oak levee near the town, Dalrymple said.

In St. Charles, most of the area flooded was agricultural land, said Karen Locke, a spokeswoman for the St. Charles Public Works Department. A mobile home park in the area with about 500 residents isn't in any immediate danger of flooding, she said.

Iowa Cleanup

In Iowa, the cleanup has begun in cities and towns that were swamped by record floods last week.

The state may not be able to tally the cost of the deluge until the harvest later this year, said Delores Mertz, a representative in the Iowa state legislature and chairwoman of the state's House Agricultural Committee. A poor harvest may also decrease revenues in 2009 when Iowa collects taxes, she said.

After the 1993 floods, it took Iowa more than a year to recover economically, said Charles Whiteman, senior associate dean at the University of Iowa's Tippie College of Business in Iowa City.

``Having federal disaster relief is going to be very important to the state,'' said Whiteman.

A supplemental war-funding bill that passed in the House of Representatives last week includes $2.65 billion in disaster- relief money for FEMA, the Army Corps of Engineers and the Small Business Administration. The Senate is likely to vote on the bill this week.

Crop Conditions

Corn and soybeans declined after a report showed the biggest U.S. crops improved last week as warmer, drier weather helped plants in the Midwest recover from excessive rains.

Corn futures for December delivery fell 1.7 percent to $7.4675 a bushel on the Chicago Board of Trade. The most-active contracted reached a record high of $7.915 on June 16.

Soybean futures for November delivery declined 0.9 percent to $14.8875 a bushel. The most-active contract has soared 89 percent in the past year, reaching a record $15.865 on March 3.

About 59 percent of corn was in good or excellent condition as of June 22, compared with 57 percent a week earlier, according to a U.S. Department of Agriculture report released yesterday.

For soybeans, about 57 percent got the top rating, up from 56 percent a week earlier, the USDA said.

In Illinois, about 56 percent of the corn crop is in good condition, behind where it should be, said Illinois Farm Bureau spokesman John Hawkins.

``It is still behind the eight ball,'' said Hawkins, who is based in Bloomington, Illinois. ``We are still about 20 to 25 points behind where we normally are.''

The average height of corn in Illinois is about 22 inches, about half the normal size, Hawkins said.

About 130,000 acres are flooded in Illinois, from a combination of rains earlier this month and the overflowing Mississippi, he said.

To contact the reporters on this story: Brian K. Sullivan in Boston at bsullivan10@bloomberg.net.

Last Updated: June 24, 2008 14:19 EDT