Two killed in Southern Illinois flooding

Two people were killed Wednesday after they were caught in heavy flooding in Southern Illinois, the Jefferson County Sheriff's Department said.

Sheriff Roger Mulch said Steve R. Healy, 35, of McLeansboro and Shannon C. Allen, 20, of Mount Vernon, were killed after their vehicle became stranded in high water. Allen dropped her purse and went into the water after it. When she could not make it back to the vehicle, a third person who was in the vehicle, Nicole Asbury of Mount Vernon, went into the water to help her.

The two women could not make it back to the vehicle and Healy went into the water to help them. According to Mulch, all three were carried into a flooded field by the water. Asbury was able to climb out of the water, but Healy and Allen were not. Mulch said dive teams from Carbondale recovered their bodies Wednesday afternoon.

Jefferson, Union and Saline counties were among counties hit hard by flooding this week after heavy rain. Gov. Rod Blagojevich named 19 counties disaster areas Thursday.

Saline county had 7 1/2 inches of rain in two days, causing flood waters that forced evacuations and had workers using sandbags to shore up a internal levee at the sewer plant in Harrisburg. The Saline River levee held after it was reinforced with rocks and gravel.

The flooding closed several roads and forced the evacuation of about 50 senior citizens from Brookstone Estates. Harrisburg Medical Center used buses to bring in patients because cars and ambulances could not pass through the high water.

Two apartment complexes were evacuated and most businesses in Harrisburg were closed Wednesday. Authorities used boats and prisoner transport vans to evacuate residents of the complexes. All four Saline County school systems were closed.

In Marion, seven inches of rain in 33 hours led to several people being rescued from their homes and stranded vehicles. Several roads were closed.

In Du Quoin, the water treatment plant saw as much as 250,000 gallons an hour flow through, pushing manhole covers off their frames.

GateHouse News Service