WRAPUP 3-Worst over for Missisippi flooding, losses tallied

* Mississippi River crests at St Louis, lower than feared

* No new levee breaks, weather cooperating

* Political pressure rising over faster aid, relief

By James B. Kelleher

EAST ST. LOUIS, Ill., June 21 (Reuters) - The swollen Mississippi River's crest rolled downstream on Saturday, sparing St. Louis from major flooding but leaving billions of dollars in damage to crops, houses and infrastructure further north.

Emergency workers anxiously watched the skies, fearing that more rain could swell river levels again and complicate recovery efforts from the worst Midwest flooding in 15 years.

With the worst of the flooding apparently over, communities along the Mississippi's flood plain were tallying their losses and waiting for water to recede.

"Right now things are looking good. The crisis part is passed and that's heartening. We're breathing a sigh of relief," said Farm Bureau official Blake Roderick, executive director for Pike and Scott counties in Illinois.

Just isolated showers and thunderstorms were forecast for portions of southern Wisconsin on Saturday, according to the National Weather Service.

River levels peaked in St. Louis at 37.27 feet (11.3 metres) late on Friday, lower than earlier forecast and below the record of 49.58 feet (15.1 meters) set in 1993.

More than two dozen levee breaks up-river earlier in the week took pressure off downstream areas.

No additional levee breaks were reported on Saturday, and sandbagging operations in some communities were halted.

"St. Louis has crested. Everything is holding north of here," said John Daves, a spokesman for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in St. Louis.

Some 130 miles (209 km) downstream, the nation's most important river is expected to crest at Cape Girardeau, Missouri, on Monday at 41.5 feet (12.6 metres), well below the 1993 peak of 48.5 feet (14.8 meters).

HIGHER WORLD FOOD PRICES

The Midwest flooding and storms blamed for 24 deaths since late May have caused damage in the billions of dollars in this prime part of the U.S. grain belt and are expected to push U.S. and world food prices higher.