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River to crest above flood stage in Pontiac
By Tony Sapochetti and Bridget Flynn
tsapochetti@pantagraph.com | bflynn@pantagraph.com
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PONTIAC -- Vermilion River was expected to crest about a foot above flood stage late Monday night at Pontiac, but weather officials said they did not expect the flooding cause’s by the weekend’s heavy rains to be too bad. | Peoria woman swept into storm drain | Photo gallery: Illinois flooding

The flood stage for the river in is 14 feet at Pontiac, and the National Weather Service at Romeoville predicted it would crest around 15 feet overnight, said meteorologist Casey Sullivan.

Mayor Scott McCoy said the water levels were not unusual for the city during periods of heavy rain.

“This is just a normal flooding event that we seem to see every year,” he said. “We don’t expect to have any problems.”

The Mackinaw River, meanwhile, also flooded, but there were no reports of damage or injuries, according to sheriff’s police and the National Weather Service at Lincoln.

At the Congerville measuring station, the Mackinaw River hit 18.5 feet about 8 p.m. and was close to cresting, weather service spokesman Billy Ousley said. That is more than 5 feet above the flood stage there.

At Pontiac, the Vermilion River reached 13.92 feet by Monday morning and was a foot higher -- 14.87 feet -- by 7 p.m.

The fallout for the weekend’s wet weather was worse in the Chicago area, where rain overwhelmed the sewer system and casued widespread flooding, and southern Illinois, where thousands of people were left without power.

McCoy told the City Council Monday night that no streets were flooded and there were no reports of significant damage other than a tree falling onto Chestnut Street.

Chautauqua Park, Play Park and Humiston Riverside Park flooded, but that is typical when rain swells the river, McCoy said.

National Weather Service meteorologist Paul Merzlock said the river is expected to fall below flood levels today.

The fact that there is no rain in the Central Illinois forecast for the rest of the week should help.

The remnants of Tropical Storm Lowell and Hurricane Ike pushed a great deal of moisture from the Gulf Coast into the atmosphere, causing what seemed to be constant rain from Thursday to Sunday, Merzlock said.

Much of central and northern Illinois was under a flood warning Monday, but Merzlock said it was due to slow drainage of existing water, not more expected rain.

“It’s going to be longer than normal simply because there was so much rain,” he said.

From Friday through Sunday, the northwest section of Livingston County, including the area just south of Streator, received upward of 8 inches of rain, Merzlock said. Southeastern Livingston County, such as Fairbury and Chatsworth, received around 5.2 inches during that same time, he said.

McLean County received 5 to 6 inches in the north and 4 to 4.5 inches in the Bloomington-Normal and southern areas over those same three days.

Take a look
Many different types of water fowl were taking advantage of the light flooding at Humiston Riverside Park Monday afternoon. These birds were seen on an area above a flooded bench. (The Pantagraph/Tony Sapochetti) (September, 15, 2008)
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Reader comments on this story - 11 total

Note: All views and opinions expressed in reader comments are solely those of the individual submitting the comment, and not those of the Pantagraph or its staff.

bummer wrote on Sep 16, 2008 7:02 AM:

" Sam..that would be tears of joy. Nice try though. "

Burgerman wrote on Sep 15, 2008 12:34 PM:

" It is better to deal with a little water in the basement, then having the whole house gone like in texas or lousinia. "

tucker wrote on Sep 15, 2008 11:49 AM:

" my back is killing me from sucking water out of our basement with the wet vac....but I guess we should really count ourselves lucky compared to some people. "

itsme wrote on Sep 15, 2008 10:42 AM:

" miskaffon....I'm right there with you! "

Sam Wainwright wrote on Sep 15, 2008 10:00 AM:

" That wasn't rain...it was God crying tears of joy over Sarah Palin's nomination for V.P. Or maybe it was just rain. "

the_goat wrote on Sep 15, 2008 9:52 AM:

" I had about the same as RCS. Just a week ago Sunday I was out watering everything because it was so dry.... I knew this would happen! "

coupie wrote on Sep 15, 2008 8:13 AM:

" miskaffon, I hear ya. Our lower level flooded yesterday too. Best of luck to you! "

smalltowngal wrote on Sep 15, 2008 7:41 AM:

" after new drains were installed down the road from us, we thought we have seen the last of our basement being flooded. How wrong we were once again. Have 2 drains right in front of our home but one is totally useless. Just glad we didnt have much to throw out this time but of course we will be replacing dryer #4 out of the 7 years we lived here ptth "

RCS wrote on Sep 15, 2008 7:06 AM:

" In my location @ Towanda Barnes/RT150, Thursday/Fri. 3inchs with Sat/Sun just under 6 inchs. "

Ummmm wrote on Sep 15, 2008 6:19 AM:

" I hope everyone is able to get back on their feet after the rains. Water in the home is not a good thing. "

miskaffon wrote on Sep 14, 2008 10:26 PM:

" We're still dealing with water in the lower level of our bi-level home. What a mess!! "
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