Daily Chronicle flood coverage here and here. Road closure information here.
Per Gilbert: "DeKalb officially has had 4.85" of rain from 7 AM Thursday through 7 AM this Friday morning, including 1.50" last night from 9 PM-1 AM. As a result, the Kishwaukee River is at 15.24', or 5.24' above flood stage. Significant flooding in the city is occurring in the usual suspect areas, including buildings at NIU near the river. Please note, the average monthly rainfall is 4.54" for August. The river is expected now to crest at 15.4 feet this afternoon, taking into account the amount of rain forecast. The all-time record crest is 15.8' back on 7/2/1983."
Emergency Notice from NIU: " Due to potentially worsening flood conditions on our DeKalb campus, the university has declared an emergency closure and urges those personnel who are not designated as essential to emergency services to leave campus as soon as possible. Only two bridges in DeKalb are currently passable, and with additional rain forecast, travel throughout the county is likely to grow increasingly difficult as the day goes on ..."
Hydrograph for the Kishwaukee River at DeKalb.Historical Crests
(1) 15.80 ft on 07/02/1983
(2) 15.27 ft on 08/24/2007
(3) 12.97 ft on 07/18/1996
(4) 12.64 ft on 02/21/1997
(5) 12.33 ft on 06/12/1929
(6) 12.28 ft on 05/24/1927
(7) 11.32 ft on 09/09/1980
(8) 10.97 ft on 08/27/1987
(9) 10.78 ft on 02/25/1926
(10) 10.62 ft on 05/31/2004
(11) 9.91 ft on 03/03/1985
Rescues along Taylor Rd, just west of the Kishwaukee River. Boat was used to rescue people stranded in apartments to the right.
Music Building flooded.
Miller St next to Music Building. Witnessed old lady drive through this ... way too high for her to be doing that. But, she seemed oblivious to the situation!
Lincoln Hwy ... a traffic disaster preflood due to the construction of the new bridge. Now a major problem for all due to flooding of lagoon water onto pavement. The water was about 6" deep on Lincoln Hwy.
Flooding on the levee near Hillcrest and North 1st.
Taylor Road.
Kishwuakee Hall and the River.
Flooding near Clifford Drive.
Flooding near Clifford Drive.
Kids playing in the flood waters.
Houses near N 1st and Hillcrest.
Levee (the green grass) overtopped near N 1st St.
Still Gym and Hall.
Rural farm road just south of town.
Fairview Drive.
Davis Hall (my office is on the 2nd flood) with Castle Dr. flooded.
Guy taking pictures IN the flood waters.
Is the picture that much better from the other side of the bridge?
Look closely and you will see a guy crossing the flooded road with a bag in his hand off to the left-center of the pic. This guy had just got off work and could not get to his apartment, which is off to the right. He was bitching about the flood and started to call someone on his cell phone. I thought for sure he would know better than to cross the water. I left and started heading back to my car. I then turned around and noticed he had started walking through the flood waters. It got up to about his shoulders. This guy gets my Darwin Award for the day. He did make it across ... luckily. AVI movies (from my handheld camera) of the situation here: http://chubasco.niu.edu/filebox/events/082407/MVI_2676.AVI http://chubasco.niu.edu/filebox/events/082407/MVI_2670.AVI
We were supposed to have a record corn crop this year, but I do wonder how all this rain will hamper the crop.
Castle Drive on campus. The freshly paved road looks beautiful under the flood waters.
The Kish flooding at the new bridge on College Ave. I assume the bridge will be overtopped sometime this afternoon.AFTERNOON UPDATE
John Street, just north of Lincoln Highway. I tried to get west to Annie Glidden via Lincoln Hwy. to get a pic or two, but the traffic was just horrible ... so I turned around. As you can see, the flood caught some people by surprise (note car that is flooded under the trees).
Gayle Street south of Taylor.
Apartments off of Fairview.
Fairview looking toward Annie Glidden.
Boats used to rescue stranded persons in neighborhood south of Taylor and east of Annie Glidden.
Flooded homes and car just south of Taylor near Lions Park.