Earth Watch Report - Flash Floods
Octavio Castillo paddles down a flooded street on Friday, April 19, in Des Plaines, Illinois, a suburb of Chicago.…
| 24.04.2013 | Flash Flood | USA | State of Illinois, Grafton |  |
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Flash Flood in USA on Wednesday, 24 April, 2013 at 14:01 (02:01 PM) UTC.
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| A powerful spring cold snap brings more rain and snow to a soggy U.S. heartland Wednesday, putting more pressure on riverside communities from the upper Midwest to the Deep South. The residents of Grafton, Illinois, north of St. Louis, will see the worst of the floodwaters through Friday as the Mississippi River peaks at more than 11 feet above flood stage, the National Weather Service says. Many along the river’s edge decided to evacuate. But Jerry Eller thought he would wait it out. “I’ve got water coming up through cracks in the floor, so I have about 3,000 gallons an hour of pumps running down the basement keeping water out, and that seems to be keeping it down to about an inch,” Eller sa |
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Midwest begins to see some relief from flooding
Household items are submerged in floodwaters in front of a house in Fox Lake, Illinois, on Monday, April 22. Steady rains are expected Tuesday, April 23, in several Midwestern states already facing severe flooding. Have you been affected by the flooding? Share your images with CNN iReport.- NEW: Areas north of St. Louis should see water slowly recede
- NEW: Some rivers closed to public because of debris, fast currents
- Fargo, North Dakota, is preparing for flooding
- The rain and flooding have caused four deaths, local authorities say
(CNN) — It appears the people on the banks of at least one major river in the Midwest are finally getting a break from rising water.
Water levels have peaked north of St. Louis, but the floodwaters from the upper Mississippi River will be slow to recede in the coming days, CNN weather producer Taylor Ward said.
And forecasters think the weather north of St. Louis in the next few days should be mostly calm.
But rain is expected on Friday and Saturday from St. Louis into Mississippi, Ward said.
The peak waters will continue to head south in the coming days but are not expected to be significant south of Missouri. The expected rainfall late this week shouldn’t have much of an impact on the anticipated crests of rivers.
The residents of Grafton, Illinois, north of St. Louis, will see the worst of the floodwater through Friday as the Mississippi River peaks at more than 11 feet above flood stage, the National Weather Service says.
Many along the river’s edge decided to evacuate, but Jerry Eller thought he would wait it out.
“I’ve got water coming up through cracks in the floor, so I have about 3,000 gallons an hour of pumps running down the basement keeping water out, and that seems to be keeping it down to about an inch,” Eller told CNN affiliate KPLR.
Floodwater has ravaged dozens of counties in Illinois, forcing thousands of residents from their homes.
On Wednesday, the Missouri and Illinois rivers and parts of the Mississippi River were closed to recreational boats due to debris and fast currents, the Coast Guard said.
The statement said conditions had already caused 200-foot long barges to break away from their moorings and sink.
The Army Corps of Engineers closed three of its locks to all river traffic until flooding subsides.
“Public safety is our first priority. Rivers are unpredictable and dangerous in a flood,” said Col. Chris Hall, commander of the Corps’ St. Louis District. “Even if someone has lived along a river his whole life, he shouldn’t assume it will behave the same way during a flood. It’s not a good time to be on or near the rivers.”
Affected by the flooding? Share your images
Widespread flooding
As rivers across the heartland swelled during the past two weeks, rising water was blamed for four deaths. Flooding has threatened rivers in Illinois, Missouri, Iowa, Indiana, North Dakota, Mississippi and Michigan, the National Weather Service said.
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Related articles
- Midwest begins to see relief from flooding (wyff4.com)
- Flooding threatens drenched Midwest, South (wyff4.com)
- Flooding threatens drenched Midwest, South (wdsu.com)
- 4 die in flooding; many evacuate (news.blogs.cnn.com)
- Flooding threatens already drenched Midwest, South (fox6now.com)
- 4 die in flooding, many evacuate (cnn.com)
- Four deaths blamed on Midwest flooding – Jim Spellman reports (earlystart.blogs.cnn.com)
- Springtime Floods Interfering With Tourist Season In Grafton (fox2now.com)
- Floodwaters Rising After Storms Deluge Heartland (americansforcommonsenseblog.wordpress.com)
- More rain, snow could lead to more flooding (kansascity.com)
LaSalle County Generating Station is a nuclear power plant located in rural LaSalle County in northern Illinois about 75 miles southwest of Chicago. (Photo courtesy ExelonCorp.com)
