Flood — Alexander, Illinois

2019-06-01 to 2019-06-30 · near Thebes, Alexander, Illinois

Event narrative

Major flooding continued on the Mississippi River through the month of June. After rising above flood stage in mid March, the Mississippi River remained above flood stage through the spring and into early summer. At the Thebes river gage, the river crested at 43.66 feet on June 10. This is considered a major flood. Major flooding starts at 42 feet. The East Cape Girardeau area was particularly hard hit, with some residences flooded for weeks. The Route 146 bridge connecting Illinois and Missouri at Cape Girardeau was closed due to flooding on the Illinois side of Route 146. Illinois Route 3 was flooded and closed for an extended period of time from Thebes north to East Cape Girardeau. A break in the Len Small Levee that occurred during the record flood of 2016 was not adequately repaired. This prolonged major flood enlarged the break in the levee, causing large parts of the Miller City area to flood. Several evacuated families were unable to reach their homes due to the flooding and road washouts. In the Miller City area, large sections of roads were washed away. The county highway engineer estimated damage to roads was well over one million dollars. A sewage plant at Thebes was inundated with floodwater and shut down, causing the community to be without sewer services. The Thebes Landing area of town was flooded. There was widespread flooding of low-lying farmland and woods across the county. Since some crop planting was not possible due to prolonged spring flooding, direct crop losses were reduced. The extended duration of the flooding caused levees to become unstable, and seepage became a problem. The governor of Illinois issued a disaster proclamation for the affected counties along the river.

Wider weather episode

Several rivers remained above flood stage from May. On the Mississippi River, major flooding continued through the month of June. Backwater from the Mississippi kept moderate flooding going on the lowest reaches of the Ohio River as well as the Big Muddy River. The flooding on the Wabash and Little Wabash Rivers was minor. The region remained stuck in a long-term wet pattern that continued through the spring and into early summer. Most locations were 1 to 2 inches above normal for the month of June. Some locations saw as much as 3 to 5 inches more rainfall than normal in June. At Evansville, Indiana, it was the 6th wettest June on record with a total of 7.53 inches.

View location on OpenStreetMap → (37.2200, -89.4700)

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 829544. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.