Published: December 27, 2008 06:41 pm      

Emergency staff keep eye on river

Heavy rains could cause flooding

DANVILLE — Local officials were expecting flooding problems to develop overnight because of heavy rains that swept through the county and central Illinois on Saturday.

Vermilion County Emergency Management Agency Director Ted Fisher said late Saturday afternoon that the river levels were being continually monitored as a result of the weather conditions.

He estimated on Saturday that flood stages could be reached as early as midnight as a result.

According to the National Weather Service, the Vermilion River measured at just under 12 feet Saturday night, only 4 feet from action stage for the river. At that point, Fisher said boats will be readied to assist residents trying to get out of any of the harder hit areas.

Eighteen feet is considered flood stage. A flood warning for Vermilion and Champaign counties was issued on Saturday and set to expire this morning.

Fisher expected the stretch of the North Fork by Bismarck to be the first hit by the rising waters. Well-known flood-prone area like the Morin Addition won’t see the higher river waters until later in the morning, he estimated, as well as the Shangri-La area near the Middle Fork.

The flooding comes as a result of rain that started by midday and fell throughout the rest of the day. By 6 p.m. Saturday, the county EMA office was reporting almost an inch of rainfall.

County roads and other low-lying areas become dangerous as a result of heavy rainfall. Fisher said his office had received re-ports of water on some roadways, but no roads that were deemed impassable.

In addition to flooding, the storms caused some small power outages in the area. Ameren reported outages of 49 people in Catlin and 40 people in Danville in the afternoon.

Minor flooding from the Wabash River was reported in Covington where the Indiana river passed its flood stage of 16 feet at 7 a.m. Saturday. Initial estimates from the National Weather Service forecast the river cresting at just more than 19 feet by this afternoon before starting to drop.

County law enforcement in Fountain, Vermillion and Warren counties reported no problems as a result of Saturday’s weather.

The National Weather Service forecast the heavy rains to eventually die off during the night, with clear skies expected today.