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Illinois residents along Mississippi River prepare for flooding
By Jeffrey Meitrodt/Chicago Tribune (MCT)
QUINCY, Ill. - Along the Mississippi River, Illinois residents were preparing Friday for flooding at or near the historic 1993 levels that washed away some small hamlets, isolated larger river towns and left vast swaths of valuable cropland under water for weeks.
Gov. Rod Blagojevich went to Quincy, Ill., to observe flood preparations in the city just up the river from the boyhood home of Mark Twain. The governor issued a pre-disaster declaration for seven counties along the Mississippi, enabling state assistance ahead of the flood crest that is predicted for Thursday.
"According to the (Army) Corps (of Engineers) reports, it's probably going the be the worst it's ever been. We're very concerned," said Quincy Mayor John Spring.
The governor's declaration covered Adams, Calhoun, Hancock, Henderson, Mercer, Pike and Rock Island counties.
Quincy-area residents started trickling into the convention center at 6 a.m. Friday for a day of sand-bagging. Blagojevich said 200 National Guard troops would head to Quincy Saturday to assist them.
City engineer Jeffrey Steinkamp swigged on a bottle of water Friday as he watched 200 volunteers attack eight-foot mountains of sand with shovels. He said the city has another 800,000 sandbags arriving in the next 24 hours, and he is hoping they won't need more. But he's worried.
If the prediction of 32 feet for next week increases, it could be "catastrophic for us," Steinkamp said. In 1993, the river crested at 31.4 feet at Quincy.
© 2008, Chicago Tribune.
Visit the Chicago Tribune on the Internet at http://www.chicagotribune.com/
Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services.
Subscribe To Lake AlertsGov. Rod Blagojevich went to Quincy, Ill., to observe flood preparations in the city just up the river from the boyhood home of Mark Twain. The governor issued a pre-disaster declaration for seven counties along the Mississippi, enabling state assistance ahead of the flood crest that is predicted for Thursday.
"According to the (Army) Corps (of Engineers) reports, it's probably going the be the worst it's ever been. We're very concerned," said Quincy Mayor John Spring.
The governor's declaration covered Adams, Calhoun, Hancock, Henderson, Mercer, Pike and Rock Island counties.
Quincy-area residents started trickling into the convention center at 6 a.m. Friday for a day of sand-bagging. Blagojevich said 200 National Guard troops would head to Quincy Saturday to assist them.
City engineer Jeffrey Steinkamp swigged on a bottle of water Friday as he watched 200 volunteers attack eight-foot mountains of sand with shovels. He said the city has another 800,000 sandbags arriving in the next 24 hours, and he is hoping they won't need more. But he's worried.
If the prediction of 32 feet for next week increases, it could be "catastrophic for us," Steinkamp said. In 1993, the river crested at 31.4 feet at Quincy.
© 2008, Chicago Tribune.
Visit the Chicago Tribune on the Internet at http://www.chicagotribune.com/
Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services.
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