Flood — Mason, Illinois

2002-05-12 to 2002-05-31 · Mason, Illinois

Wider weather episode

After several rounds of precipitation over Central Illinois during the first couple weeks of May, area rivers rose above flood stage at most locations. The following rivers were in flood during May: Spoon River, Illinois River, Mackinaw River, Sangamon River, Embarras River and the Little Wabash. The death of the 8 year old boy in Mason county occurred when he was playing in a boat that was tied to the shore in a flooded part of the Illinois River. The rope got loose and the boat started to drift away. He panicked and jumped into the water and drowned. As far as property damage is concerned, not too many homes were affected despite record or near record crests on many of the rivers in Central Illinois. Since the 1993 floods, many levies were built or existing ones were extended to prevent widespread flooding. The Mechanicsburg (Sangamon Co.) water treatment plant was inundated on the 13th by the Sangamon River. Also, several homes in the Riverton and Rochester areas were flooded due to the Sangamon River. In Cass County, the Bell Levy near Chandlerville was breached on the 15th. This caused Illinois Route 78 to be closed and seven homes were affected by the water. In southeastern Illinois, the Embarras River crested at a record 24.27 feet on May 16th in Lawrenceville. Several homes in town near the river were flooded. In southwestern Crawford County, a levy on the Embarras River near Landes was breached on the evening of the 14th. No structures were threatened, but several roads and farm fields in the area were flooded.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 5301452. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.