(Our personal 2008 Albany Park flood story, complete with pictures, starts at Albany Park Flood- Record-breaking Chicago rains. )
Well, not yet.
And maybe not at all....
No water in the basement yet, not one drop (and hopefully there won't be), but the North Branch of the Chicago River has exceeded flood stage. The houses south of the river are inundated and the city was placing sandbags down there and dropping big concrete pylons. A number of cars are stuck in the water over there.. I guess the owners didn't get them out in time.. or perhaps the owners were at work and didn't realize that the street would flood as much as it did.
We're north of the river; we're several feet higher than the homes south of the river, and our street is dry.
As I write, at 11:30 a.m. Thursday, the worst of the rain appears to be over and has moved to the east. There are some lines of thunderstorms southwest that may or may not hit the Chicago area, but they don't seem to be extreme.
As our basement was never turned back into a living area, we don't have as much to lose this time should we get any flooding down there. But, just to be safe, I've triaged and prioritized the stuff in the basement and I have about 20 items that I'm bringing upstairs one or two at a time.
The river itself is not expected to crest until later tonight or tomorrow afternoon, so we are still wary. However, a lot of work has been done on the sewer/drainage system in this area, so our basements may be spared. I won't feel comfortable until tomorrow morning.
Weather Underground says that flooding at Albany Park starts at 7.0 feet. The river was 8.2 feet this morning. It was expected to reach 8.4 feet this afternoon. It did not say whether or not that would be a crest. So we have hours to go before we know how this will all work out.
Here we go again.
Well, not yet.
And maybe not at all....
No water in the basement yet, not one drop (and hopefully there won't be), but the North Branch of the Chicago River has exceeded flood stage. The houses south of the river are inundated and the city was placing sandbags down there and dropping big concrete pylons. A number of cars are stuck in the water over there.. I guess the owners didn't get them out in time.. or perhaps the owners were at work and didn't realize that the street would flood as much as it did.
We're north of the river; we're several feet higher than the homes south of the river, and our street is dry.
As I write, at 11:30 a.m. Thursday, the worst of the rain appears to be over and has moved to the east. There are some lines of thunderstorms southwest that may or may not hit the Chicago area, but they don't seem to be extreme.
As our basement was never turned back into a living area, we don't have as much to lose this time should we get any flooding down there. But, just to be safe, I've triaged and prioritized the stuff in the basement and I have about 20 items that I'm bringing upstairs one or two at a time.
The river itself is not expected to crest until later tonight or tomorrow afternoon, so we are still wary. However, a lot of work has been done on the sewer/drainage system in this area, so our basements may be spared. I won't feel comfortable until tomorrow morning.
What's the flood stage for the Chicago River at Albany Park?
Weather Underground says that flooding at Albany Park starts at 7.0 feet. The river was 8.2 feet this morning. It was expected to reach 8.4 feet this afternoon. It did not say whether or not that would be a crest. So we have hours to go before we know how this will all work out.
I thought the city did work in Eugene Field Park that would help with floods? Just a waste of money? Where is the Alderman "do nothing" Laurino?
ReplyDeleteThey did quite a bit of work on the sewers. It hasn't helped with the actual river due to the intensity and the length of this storm, but we'll see if it helps with the basements around here.
ReplyDeleteI am a reporter with 89 WLS wondering if I can interview you Jo about if you home or business is threatened right now with the rising water from Chicago river.
ReplyDeletePlease call me at station 312-236-0507 thanks
Mary Frances Bragiel
maryfrances.bragiel@cumulus.com
Mary, please ask the city why they waited for the streets to flood before they put the concrete barricades on Foster near Avers? Why not do that before the flood? It is like closing the door to the barn after the horses have left. Also, when the sandbagged they left huge gaps undandbagged on the very east portion of Eugene Field park near trhe bridge so the water got in anyway. Why can't the water be diverted to Eugene Field Park?
DeleteWhy did they wait until after the flooding to put up the concrete barriers on Foster? And they only partially sandbagged on the south side of the north branch by Eugene Field Park so why even bother? Is this Laurino's plan to just let the area flood every time there is a heavy rainfall? If her house was on the block would we see action instead of rhetoric and empty promises?
ReplyDelete