Record flooding in the Midwest is expected to cause more than two billion dollars in damage for residents in Iowa. However, the economic impact is expected to affect consumers who live all across the country, as Steven Cooper explains in tonight’s Consumer Watch.

If you already thought you were paying too much at the grocery store, brace yourselves. A flood that will never reach your door may in fact soak your pocketbook.

Iowa, the nation’s number one corn producer, might have lost between 1 and 3 million acres of the crop during these devastating floods. Damage done to those crops could push prices at grocery stores even higher.

Items like cereal, in which corn is often the main ingredient, are expected to spike. Corn is also used as feed for chicken and cattle and could push meat prices higher.

A new zero-emission hydrogen-fuel-cell car rolled off the production line this week in Japan. Honda’s FCX Clarity runs on hydrogen and electricity.

It emits only water instead of the fumes believed to contribute to global warming. Honda claims it’s also twice as energy efficient as a gas electric hybrid and 3 times that of a standard car. Honda is expected to lease about 200 of the cars within 3 years.

It’s a tougher time than usual to be a senior. A study released today by AARP and the Consumer Bankruptcy Project shows that from 1991 to 2007 the rate of personal bankruptcy filing among those ages 65 or older jumped 150 percent.

The most startling rise occurred among those ages 75 to 84, where the bankruptcy rate soared 433 percent. According to the study, more elderly Americans are faced today with increasing debt and rising medical bills.