Residents of Ohio River towns scrambling
</element><element id="paragraph-1" type="body"><![CDATA[As the Ohio River rises and the rains continue to fall, villages along the river and in Gallatin County are scrambling.
Authorities in Gallatin County have issued a mandatory evacuation order for Junction. Residents of Old Shawneetown are being urged by Gallatin County authorities to evacuate, although a mandatory evacuation order is not in place currently.
The Illinois Department of Natural Resources is deploying to evacuate those that remain in Junction. They were also expecting to go to Old Shawneetown.
Electrical power to the village is to be cut to Junction by Ameren by 7 p.m., according to Mayor Melinda Robbins.
A spokeswoman for Southeastern Illinois Electric Cooperative said the company had a crew in the Junction area Monday tending to outages, but the company has no plans to cut power to any rural customers.
The post office in Junction was closed. The mail was taken away from the building under escort by the Illinois State Police.
People in Ridgway, New Haven and Equality are being asked to conserve water because their sewer treatment plants are being inundated with floodwater, according to Tracy Felty, director of communications for the Saline County Sheriff's Department.
Authorities in Golconda plan to close the floodgates, according to a report by WSIL-TV. Workers were planning to install the western floodgate this afternoon. The northern floodgate will be installed Tuesday. Roads to the south are already flooded, so Golconda will be sealed off from the rest of Pope County when the floodgates are finished.
City Clerk Viola Thompson told WSIL that residents with medical conditions or in need of medical care should consider leaving the town. There will be no access to regular medical care when the floodgates are closed.
In Equality, six structures that were sandbagged have flooded. The structures include houses and the Full Gospel Church. Calhoun Street is flooded and closed to traffic. Older residents say Calhoun Street hasn't flooded since the 1940s.
The Ohio River at Old Shawneetown is 54.74 feet and rising, according to the National Weather Service Internet site. A crest is projected at 56 feet on May 4.
The Ohio River at Golconda is 55.39 feet and rising as of 10 a.m., according to the National Weather Service Internet site. Crest is projected at 57.7 feet on May 4. The crest projection would be the second-highest recorded stage at Golconda. The record stage at Golconda is 62.6 feet, reached Feb. 2, 1937. The high-water mark of the 1997 flood was 53.58 feet.
Saline County
Water is rising - both headwater and backwater - in parts of Saline County.
The north and south ends of Harrisburg are especially flood-prone. Kroger sandbagged the entrance of the store Monday afternoon as shoppers grabbed items off the shelves. The parking lot was filling with water, as was the parking lot at TSC. Parts of the parking lot were already restricted from motor traffic.
The gasoline station is closed.
Small Street between Kroger and Arby's has quite a bit of standing water, but motorists are still taking their chances driving through the water.
State Route 34 has water on the pavement north of Harrisburg, but is still considered passable.
State Route 13 is still open, though fields in several places have floodwater near the pavement.
"We are being swamped with people calling us about rumors," Felty said.
Several rural roads are closed in Saline County, but officials have no way of predicting what might be closed later this evening or overnight.
Saline County officials are considering opening a shelter at Dorrisville Baptist Church.
"We're getting people who go to the dialysis center or to Harrisburg Medical Center for medical treatment from Gallatin, Hardin and Pope counties, so we are considering a place where they can go," Felty said.
Water is still rising around Brookstone Estates, although it appears there is no immediate danger of the building flooding. Ron Morse Drive is closed again.
Floodwater was seen bubbling out of a sewer manhole on Main Street near Southern FS.
Backwater is starting to rise in parts of the county. The South Fork of the Saline River south of Carrier Mills has risen one foot, to 15 feet, since this morning, Felty said.