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'A serious situation'

Posted December 27, 2015 10:00 pm

By Pete Spitler Staff Writer

EDITOR'S NOTE: To see a video of Monday's media briefing on the flooding, see the Herald Tribune's Facebook page or website.

Those who lived through the Great Flood of 1993 are being tested again.

The Mississippi River at Chester reached major flood stage on Tuesday and, as of the Herald Tribune's press deadline, threatened to match the record crest of 49.74 feet achieved 22 years ago with a forecasted crest of 49.7 feet.

"This is probably going to be a couple-week event before it's all over," said Randolph County EMA spokesman Larry Willis during a media briefing Monday at the Randolph County Health Department.

The culprit was a slow-moving storm system that brought a blizzard to the Southwest and large amounts of rainfall to the Mississippi valley during Christmas Day weekend.

With dormant vegetation and already saturated soil, most of the rainfall was surface runoff, causing the river to rise rapidly.

"The river is going to come up very, very fast," said Randolph County Board Chairman Dr. Marc Kiehna.

In Missouri, the state's Department of Transportation reported more than 180 roads were closed as a result of high water. On Sunday, Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon declared a State of Emergency due to widespread flooding.

Willis said the county's worst-case scenario includes levees being overtopped in Prairie du Rocher, Kaskaskia Island and Rockwood becoming isolated. The levees are 50 feet high, but there are concerns of low spots developing due to the saturated soil.

"There is not as much of a concern of the levees breaking, as much as being overtopped," Willis said.

Willis estimated that between 2,000 and 3,000 people in Randolph County could be affected by the flooding. Randolph County sheriff's deputies have been contacting people in flood-prone areas to recommend they evacuate.

"The numbers of people affected are not as high because after 1993, the federal government bought a lot of people out and those homes are gone," he said.

Randolph County Sheriff Shannon Wolff urged motorists to avoid travelling on levee roads "unless absolutely necessary."

He added that crews will be checking levees throughout the county and additional traffic on the narrow roads can cause delays and be dangerous.

The Chester Bridge closed Tuesday due to high water, while Route 3 at the Mary's River Bridge and at Cora along the Jackson/Randolph County line was closed on Monday.

A variety of other secondary roads were closed as well.

Kiehna spoke on the economic impact of the flooding, especially for those who live in Randolph County and commute across the bridge to jobs in Missouri.

"Everybody in that room is hoping it doesn't go as high as it is," Kiehna said, referring to the group of agency representatives who met before the media briefing.

Elsewhere, sandbagging efforts began Monday at Menard Correctional Center in Chester.

"The IDOC is preparing for potential flooding at Menard Correctional Center," said Illinois Department of Corrections spokeswoman Nicole Wilson in an emailed response to the Herald Tribune. "Staff and emergency work crews are working around the clock, monitoring the situation and filling sandbags, in an effort to minimize any potential impact to the facility.

"In the event that the facility is impacted, IDOC senior staff will make operational decisions that protect the safety of staff, the offender population, and the surrounding communities."

Farmers have also been moving equipment to higher ground.

"We've closed the Rocher gates and we're taking it one day at a time right now," said Illinois Farm Bureau President Richard Guebert Jr.

The main road to Kaskaskia Island, which is home to 20 Randolph County residents, was also anticipated to go underwater on Monday.

Plans were in progress to put rock from the Mississippi River shoreline onto the levees and the Illinois Department of Transportation dropped off rolls of tarp Monday to be put underneath sandbags along the Prairie du Rocher levee.

"My biggest concern is people who make poor decisions and stay where they shouldn't be," Kiehna said. "I'm concerned people won't take this as serious as needed and we need them to move."

Randolph County EMA Coordinator Mike Hoelscher noted on Monday that volunteers were not needed, but if people are interested in helping, they can contact the Randolph County Sheriff's Office at 618-826-5484 ext. 0.

Names will be added to a list and people will be contacted if needed.

At least eight deaths in Missouri have been connected to the storm, while three adults and two children drowned in Patoka, Ill., on Saturday when their vehicle was swept off of a low bridge on rain-swollen East Fork Creek and sank before first responders could reach them.

On Monday evening around 7 p.m., the Ellis Grove Volunteer Fire Department responded to the report of a vehicle, with a person inside, in water on Kaskaskia Street south of the Pierre Menard Home.

"The water that backs up into that area is what she got into," said Ellis Grove Fire Chief Mike Jackson, who respectfully declined to name the driver. "They told me it was deep enough that the hood was underwater."

The female driver was rescued and did not sustain any injuries.

"They checked her out and sent her home," Jackson said. "She was just cold. She had climbed out of the car and was sitting on top of it when we came and got her."

Lt. Matt Considine, Coast Guard Upper Mississippi Sector public affairs officer, told the Herald Tribune that the Coast Guard will be on hand this week in a support role.

"As the week goes on, we'll slowly get requests for support, either in the immediate area or further away," he said.

The latest incident is the second time in six months that flooding on the Mississippi River has caused significant disruptions to daily life.

In June, the remnants of Tropical Storm Bill caused the river to crest at 39.4 feet, six-tenths of a foot below major flood stage. Parts of 11 area roads were closed due to high water.

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