Streets And Homes Flooded In South Suburbs After Heavy Rain Overnight; 'This Is Just Not What I Need Right Now'
CHICAGO (CBS) -- Heavy storms moved across parts of the Chicagoland overnight, dropping as much as six inches of rain in some places and leading to flash-flooding in the south suburbs and parts of northwest Indiana.
Flash flooding in Crete left some intersections flooded, with up to four feet of standing water.
Brian Finn said his dogs woke him up at 3 a.m., when his basement started to flood.
"First of all, I ran downstairs to see what was going on, and I've got standing water about 3 feet in my basement. So I run down there to make sure all the appliances are turned off," he said.
On the street outside his home in Crete, Finn said by 6 a.m. the water was down about two feet from its highest levels overnight, but he still had about four feet of standing water in his back yard."
In nearby Steger, firefighters had to rescue a man in his 80's after his car stalled in flood waters on Chicago Avenue near 31st Street. Homes and streets were swamped in the south suburb.
Theresa Gamboa said she's worried she may have lost some precious keepsakes in her flooded basement.
"It's all the way halfway up in the stairs. It's all my mom's stuff. She passed away six years ago. Our photo albums are down there, all of that, and I'm just praying that something is salvageable," she said. "It just breaks my heart. Had I known that, you know, I probably would have got those out first."
Amanda and Tom Panozzo said they woke up to four feet of water in their basement Thursday morning.
"My son just died two days ago. This is just not what I need right now," Amanda said. "He had all his stuff in the basement. It's just all gone."
The Panozzos said repairs will be a long process.
"There's water inside of the actual heat pipes, the furnace is trash, the washer and dryer has got water in it," Tom said.
As cleanup begins, there's some worry about the possibility of more rain Thursday night.
"Where's this water going to keep going?" Tom said.
Right now, they're just focused on the good around them.
"I just have a lot of friends and family standing by ready to come when I need them, and I totally appreciate it," she said.
Meantime, Park Forest firefighters rescued a woman who was trapped in her car, after several cars got stuck on a flooded road at Sauk Trail and Western Boulevard. Crews were able to rescue her without entering the water, positioning their truck so the woman could step in.
South suburban police dispatchers were busy overnight, with drivers navigating flood waters along Illinois Route 1, from Chicago Heights to Crete.
While most of the overnight flooding has subsided in northwest Indiana, high-standing water caused headaches for drivers along I-65, from Lowell to Merrillville.
Wet roads caused two semi-truck crashes late Wednesday night on I-65 near State Road 2. One semi jackknifed and the other rolled-over, both were about a half-mile apart.
The National Weather Service has issued a Flood Warning until 4:45 p.m. for parts of Kankakee County in Illinois, and parts of Porter, Lake and Jasper counties in northwest Indiana.
Flooding wasn't the only problem created by the storms overnight. Strong winds also ripped the roof off a condo complex in south suburban Darien.
"It sounded like a tree had landed on my roof, but there are no trees around here," Michael Doyle said.
Damage from the storms forced everyone to evacuate the building and find somewhere else to stay overnight.
"The roof's gone. The roof's gone," Doyle said. "You could hear the water, and then my one bedroom window on that side, water's just pouring into it."
No injuries were reported, but crews were concerned about structural damage to the building.
