More Disaster Declarations In Flood-Hit Illinois

Gov. Pat Quinn toured flood damage in the Fox River Valley to the west of Chicago on Saturday, and declared Douglas, Livingston, Knox and McDonough counties state disaster areas.

Douglas County is where the Embarras River has caused serious flooding in Villa Grove.

The governor’s new declaration brings the total number of counties with disaster declarations to 41. Those designations permit expanded access to emergency resources. Champaign County is also among the counties on the list.

Quinn has been touring flood-hit communities around Illinois for several days and says he's ``seen up close the terrible impact the flooding has had.''
The recent rains have swollen many rivers and streams across the state to record or near record levels. Homes and businesses have been inundated and thousands of people have been evacuated.

Even after the rain, some areas are getting worse because water levels continue to rise, especially in Peoria and other downstream communities along the Illinois River and its many tributaries.

A flood warning continues for the Vermilion River at Danville until Sunday afternoon. On Saturday evening, the river stage was 21.3 feet, over its flood stage of 18 feet.  The forecast calls for minor flooding to continue, with the river falling below flood stage on Sunday.

The flood warning for the Sangamon River at Monticello continues until Wednesday evening. The river stage was at 16.2 feet on Saturday evening, more than 3 feet above flood stage. The forecast calls for minor flooding to continue.