Flood — Massac, Illinois

2011-05-01 to 2011-05-31 · near Brookport, Massac, Illinois

Event narrative

Major flooding continued on the Ohio River from April. At the Brookport river gage, the flood crest of 57.00 feet on the night of May 5 was about 3.5 feet higher than the 1997 flood. This was still several feet lower than the record crest set in 1937. The activation of the New Madrid Floodway by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers spared Massac County from an even higher crest that would have inundated even larger areas of Metropolis. With the detonation of the Mississippi River levee at Birds Point, Missouri, the Ohio River stopped rising or rose much more slowly at the Brookport gage. A voluntary evacuation of the city of Brookport was requested due to potential problems with its levees. Most residents east of downtown Metropolis living between U.S. Highway 45 and the river were forced to evacuate as their homes flooded. Some dwellings on the other side of Route 45 were flooded. Several businesses along U.S. Highway 45, mostly car dealerships and restaurants, were forced to close as water crept across the highway near Fort Massac State Park. The highway remained open but reduced to two lanes. A massive sandbagging operation was conducted to attempt to protect many homes and businesses along U.S. 45 from Interstate 24 to the downtown area of Metropolis, as well as Joppa. A couple of nursing homes were evacuated. Schools were closed. Shelters were opened for those who were displaced. A hotel-casino along the Metropolis riverfront was closed for over a month.

Wider weather episode

Heavy rainfall in March set the stage for major flooding when record-setting rains fell in April and May. At Paducah, 15.91 inches of rain fell in April, which was 10.96 inches above normal. It was not only the wettest April on record, but the wettest month ever recorded at Paducah. In May, 8.74 inches of rain fell. This was 3.99 inches above normal for the month. Paducah had the wettest meteorological spring (March through May) period on record with 31.21 inches. This was 63 percent of the normal for an entire year. At Evansville, April was the second wettest April on record with 11.77 inches. For the season, Evansville had the second wettest meteorological spring with 25.01 inches. The result of all this rain was rapid and dramatic rises on rivers. Record flood crests occurred on some rivers, inundating numerous homes and businesses. There were major impacts to transportation both on land and water. There were numerous closed roads across the region, leading to often lengthy detours. Because of the high water, there were numerous day and nighttime restrictions to barge traffic. Hundreds of thousands of acres of farmland were flooded. Crops were late getting planted.

View location on OpenStreetMap → (37.1200, -88.6300)

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 307334. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.