April 18-22, 2013 Major Flooding Event
I kept waking up to blaring sirens...my NOAA weather radio...repeatedly at 3 AM...what could possibly be happening? The tornado watch had expired. "The National Weather Service has issued a Flash Flood Warning for..." was all I heard all night after this, as apparently a line of thunderstorms had completely stalled out DIRECTLY over us. However, this also meant that extreme weather was occuring- which meant that I went into "alert mode," not out of fear, but as usual, out of fascination.
It was not until daybreak that I started to see glimpses of any water. There was a small pond of water in our field, but nothing substantial. School was called off. It was STILL pouring at 7 AM, and finally diminished shortly after. About 8 inches of rain had fallen in about 6 hours! My Mom took me with her to McNabb, and on the way we saw our neighbors' low-lying yard under about 6 FEET of water where a creek ran through. It was only inches from the road.
On the way to McNabb, Route 89 between there and Granville had numerous spots where water was flowing across the road. When we finally arrived, several peoples' yards were partially underwater. Mom dropped me off at my aunt's house, only to find out that they were without power. This also meant sump pumps weren't running. When they showed me the basement, it was disastrous. The floor was covered in half a foot of standing water with nowhere to go. Tote-type containers were floating by, as was the catbox. However, they dodged a bullet. One of their neighbors had reported that the water was a few FEET deep in their basement.
We took a ride up to McNabb's subdivision, only to find a river running straight over two streets, through numerous yards, and even a few inches seeping into the ABOVE-ground portions of their homes. This was a nightmare. The creek that was dry during the year before was now a raging torrent that would suck anyone in who went near it.
Nothing much more happened until we got home except for a mudslide that sent trees and mud across Route 89 south of Spring Valley. My Dad had checked the water at our neighbor's house after we left, and said it was raging over the road. It had receeded at this point, but the damage remained. The road and part of their driveway was partially gone, and a large portion of the ditch had eroded away. If it would've lasted very much longer, the entire road may have followed suit.
This nightmare wasn't over. The Illinois River was expected to reach record territory, a record that had recently been set in September 2008.The river had also made the 4th highest crest in March 2009. Residents weren't ready for yet another disaster. It happened on April 20th, with the river cresting at 34.44 feet, beating the old record by nearly a respectable foot. Peru's aptly named "Water Street" was underwater, as were many businesses there. Unfortunately, a woman had gotten swept away on Route 351 near LaSalle, and her body was found once the waters receeded.
We finally went to the Spring Valley Bridge only to see water flowing across the road and debris deposits. The Spring Valley Boat Club was underwater. It was unlike anything I'd ever seen. The Bottom Road, what we call the road that parallels the flood plain, was flooded in many spots, and was barricaded off to traffic.
When the water finally receeded, millions of dollars worth of damage had been done across the area. The cleanup began. A lesson was learned.
