Flash Flood Warning issued as county road closures mount
UPDATE as of 8 a.m. Saturday:
All Monroe County roads that were closed Friday due to flash flooding are back open Saturday morning, per the Monroe County Sheriff’s Department and Monroe County EMA, with the exception of Bluff Road south of Kidd Lake.
Our original story…
The National Weather Service issued a Flash Flood Warning for Monroe County and portions of Randolph and St. Clair counties following continued bouts of rain Friday morning after the region already received more than three inches of rain earlier this week.
Another two inches or more of rain were expected on Friday as local creeks and ponds have already overflowed their banks and road districts continue to close county roadways due to high water.
Here are road closures in Monroe County as of noon on Friday:
•Bluff Road at KK Road and Fults Road. The area between HH and Hanover roads was closed but reopened shortly after noon.
•Deer Hill Road at HH Road
•HH Road to D Road
•Portions of Goeddeltown Road in the area of K Road
•Ames Road at Horse Creek
•Fults Road
•Brickey Road east of LL Road
•Levee Road at Luhr’s Landing
In addition, portions of Route 3, Route 156 and Route 159 were reported to have had standing water at various times throughout the morning.
Here is a photo of flood waters in the area of Deer Hill Road at HH Road as submitted by Matt Blind of Blind Eye Aerials.Earlier road closures due to rain received Tuesday night included McBride Road near Prairie du Rocher with portions of MM Road, South Fork Road and Steffen Road also described as problematic.
The National Weather Service urges motorists to “Turn Around, Don’t Drown.” A mere six inches of fast-moving flood water can knock over an adult, the NWS said. It takes just 12 inches of rushing water to carry away a small car, while two feet of rushing water can carry away most vehicles.
In conjunction with the Monroe County Emergency Management Agency, the Monroe County Board on Friday signed a proclamation in support of attaining disaster funding for the county in light of the flooding. This is just one step in the process of applying for disaster funds, Bill Hasty of the Monroe County EMA said.
All those who have dealt with flood-related issues or received property damage due to this week’s rainfall can call 211 to report the damage for assessment.
“This is just a collection of information right now,” Hasty said. “If there are enough reports from this area, there may be funding provided. We just don’t know at this point.”
The Illinois Department of Transportation announced the closure of several additional area highways due to flooding: Illinois Route 13 east of Illinois Route 157, the eastbound ramp from Interstate 64 to southbound Interstate 255 and the southbound Interstate 255 ramp to State Street in St. Clair County. It is expected that each of these roadways will slowly reopen once the rain subsides in the region.
Also, Illinois Route 155 near Prairie Du Rocher and Illinois Route 3 near Cora and Water Street in Chester remain closed due to the rising Mississippi River.
