June 11 (Bloomberg) -- Rising rivers left parts of the U.S. Midwest facing record flooding, as some cities declared mandatory evacuations with thousands of homes inundated, roads damaged and levees at risk of failing.

The National Weather Service said a total of 200 locations are flooded, and issued warnings for Missouri, Iowa, Illinois, Oklahoma and Montana. The deluge in some Iowa towns reached an all-time high following days of heavy rainfall, according to the service. More rain and some storms are predicted today and tomorrow in the Midwest.

The rising Cedar River in Iowa is threatening downtown Cedar Falls, about 85 miles (137 kilometers) northeast of Des Moines. Volunteers piled up sandbags last night to fend off the swelling river. The water level had dropped to 101.1 feet (30.8 meters) as of 11 a.m. central time, from 102 feet hours earlier, the National Weather Service said.

``Thousands of people came to help fill sandbags to raise the level beyond 102 feet,'' city spokeswoman Susan Staudt said in an interview. ``The volunteers saved downtown.''

The river's usual level is 79 feet, and the flooding stage is 88 feet, she said.

The city of about 36,000 residents is calling for more volunteers to help maintain the levy and deal with any seepage.

Record Flooding

Record flooding is also hitting the nearby city of Waterloo, where the Cedar River has risen to 25 feet, more than double flooding levels. Some neighborhoods have been evacuated, the Associated Press reported. The city had about 5.9 inches of rain this month as of yesterday, more than three times the normal amount, according to the National Weather Service.

In Palo, Iowa, officials declared a mandatory evacuation, sending residents to a shelter at a school in nearby Cedar Rapids after forecasts that the flood water may be 2 feet higher than a record in 1993. Rain and possible thunderstorms are forecast for the area late today and tomorrow.

The Mississippi River may continue to flood along points of a 200-mile stretch from Dubuque, Iowa, to Gregory Landing, Missouri, as tributaries swell the river, the National Weather Service said.

Federal Emergency Management Agency officials will visit flooded areas of Wisconsin tomorrow, including Lake Delton, where climbing water broke through defenses and drained the lake, and Vernon County, where 113 roads are closed due to the floods. Areas of the state were flooded on June 8 and 9.

Governor Jim Doyle will seek a federal disaster declaration once the FEMA officials have made an assessment, the state's Web site said.

In the Northeast, thunderstorms late yesterday doused a four-day heat wave and pushed temperatures down from the high 90 degrees Fahrenheit (30 degrees Celsius) to the 80s in New York and 70s Washington, the Accuweather.com forecaster said.

To contact the reporter on this story: Robin Stringer in New York at rstringer@bloomberg.net.

Last Updated: June 11, 2008 13:44 EDT