Heavy spring rains have flooded most rivers in the U.S. heartland from the Dakotas to Ohio, feeding near-record crests on the lower Mississippi River.

According to National Weather Service, the major tributaries of Mississippi River, including the White River, the Arkansas River and Big Black River may be impacted by the river’s main stem flooding.

As U.S. Army engineers opened on Saturday a key spillway to spare New Orleans and Louisiana's capital Baton Rouge from the Mississippi River flooding, thousands of residents of small Louisiana towns are bracing for the worst.

The increasing water level could leave the region’s homes and agricultural fields under as much as 20 feet of water, Reuters reported.

Check out images below, as we update with the latest photos of heavily flooded agricultural fields on the Missouri side of the Mississippi River, captured by NASA crew from the International Space Station, 220 miles above Earth and the Mississippi River.

Also view: Latest pictures of slowly rising Mississippi floodwaters around Memphis

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