How you can stay prepared for flooding in Illinois and what does ‘500-year flood’ really mean?
Interstate bridge in Peoria over the Illinois River. Reginald Hardwick/IPM News
During this episode, we discussed the science behind the July 4, 2025 extreme flash flood in the Hill Country of Texas. In the very early hours of the morning the Guadalupe River rose 26 feet in 45 minutes, claiming the lives of more than 100 people. We also discussed what it means when scientists say "500-year flood" or "1000-year flood" and why that is confusing to the general public. And we discussed how flash flooding in Central Illinois is different from Central Texas. However, it does NOT mean you can ignore flood issues here at home.
The co-hosts are Maddie Stover, a doctoral student in Physics at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and Illinois State Climatologist Trent Ford. They spoke with Dr. Ana Barros, head of the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and Donald Biggar Willett, chair of Engineering at The Grainger College of Engineering, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign.
