The Mississippi River peaked today in Davenport, Iowa, inches below the top of a barrier that residents built to keep the flooding river out of the heart of the city. The sandbag barrier would withstand a river level of 23 feet; by midmorning the river had reached 22.23 feet, already the third highest level on record in Davenport. Forecasters say the river is on its way down but might remain above flood level for days.

"It's going to be very slow going down, so we'll be fighting this river for probably another week and a half in a serious way," said Dee Bruemmer, the city's public works director.