St. Clair County says evacuations could begin if Mississippi surpasses 47 feet; Alton battles rising water
As flooding along the Mississippi River and its tributaries approach record numbers, metro-east communities are working to prevent further damage and eying possible evacuation.
St. Clair County Emergency Management Agency said Thursday night if the Mississippi rises past 47 feet, the county will consider evacuation for residents living in low-lying areas near levees.
As of now, the Mississippi River at St. Louis is expected to crest at 46 feet Wednesday, June 5, roughly 3 1/2 feet below the 1993 record of 49.58. In Alton, the river will crest at 39.2 feet the same day.
The Illinois River also is in a major flood state in several cities. The river is expected to crest in Hardin at 40.3 feet Tuesday. The Kaskaskia River, which jumped three feet into major flooding stages over the weekend, has no predicted crest
However, the National Weather Service’s flood forecasts do not take into account precipitation amounts expected past the next 24 hours. Rain is forecast for Saturday and for several days next week.
Around St. Clair County, floodgates have and are being installed in Cahokia, East Carondelet and North Dupo. As of Friday, officials with the county EMA said they do not expect levees to be topped of to fail.
In Madison County, volunteers lined up Friday morning to sandbag areas in the at-risk areas of downtown Alton that could flood in the coming days.
Workers installed a device that inflates and expands to seal the sewer lines, stopping water from emerging from the sewer. The Telegraph reported this measure wasn’t taken during the 1993 flood and had devastating results.
Across the Mississippi, matters are more dire. Flood waters topped levees in West Alton, Missouri on Friday, cutting some residents off from their homes. A rock berm built over Highway 94 broke Thursday and a rock-fortified levee near Highway 67 broke in several places, Fox 2 reported..
The city’s residents have been advised to evacuate their homes due to flooding.
About 200 National Guard members have been deployed to the area to assist with flood and levee monitoring.
Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker called the situation “grave” and urged anyone living along a river to prepare for the worst and to have an evacuation plan ready, especially residents in Calhoun, Jersey, Green, Scot, Morgan and Cass counties.
According to NWS data, this year’s flooding could also challenge the duration of the 1993 floods. This year, the river has been above flood stage near St. Louis for 73 consecutive days, while it was 98 days in 1993.
“This has definitely been a year for the record books,” Thomas Spriggs, a senior meteorologist for the St. Louis NWS office told the AP. “It’s certainly on the short list for worst (local) river flooding ever. It’s going to go on for a while longer yet.”
A cold front is expected to move through the region Saturday, according to the U.S. National Weather Service. Scattered strong to severe thunderstorms may develop by Saturday afternoon and continue through the evening. Damaging winds in excess of 60 mph and large hail up to golf ball size are predicted,
This story was originally published May 31, 2019 at 1:37 PM.