Flash Flood — La Salle, Illinois

2013-04-18 · near Lake Holiday, La Salle, Illinois

Event narrative

County emergency managers estimated that over 500 buildings were damaged by flooding across La Salle County. In Marseilles, 1500 people were evacuated due to a compromised levee which led to dozens of homes and facilities being flooded along the river front. Several barges broke loose from a tugboat on the Illinois River and rammed into the levee. Five of the eight locks were damaged such that they could not close completely. Flooding occurred in Utica east of Route 178 resulting in evacuations on the I&M Canal. Creeks were reported out of their banks in Mendota. A woman was killed on Route 351 as it passes over the Illinois River near Peru. She drove around barricades and became stranded in knee-deep water. Her body was found about two weeks later approximately 70 yards downstream.

Wider weather episode

Strong storms kicked off record setting heavy rains which resulted in record crests across area streams and rivers. Many locations across northern Illinois received 4 to 7 inches of rainfall, with several reports of over 7 inches of rain out of Du Page County.

View location on OpenStreetMap → (41.6314, -88.6022)

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 440073. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.