12 counties declared as Illinois disaster areas after flooding
CHICAGO (AP) - Governor Pat Quinn has declared Cook and DuPage counties, along with 10 other counties, to be state disaster areas following Friday's heavy rain and flooding.
The estimate of damage in one west suburb is already running into the millions while Chicago is seeking federal assistance with its cleanup.
In addition to Cook and DuPage, counties declared state disaster areas include: Carroll, Henderson, Jo Daviess, Lee, Mercer, Ogle, Rock Island, Stephenson, Whiteside and Winnebago, according to a release from the governor's office.
"Dozens of communities throughout Illinois are reeling from these exceptionally heavy rains," Quinn said in the release. "The state has mobilized to help with recovery efforts, and this declaration will ensure that any assistance needed by these affected communities can be provided quickly and are available for as long as they are needed."
State officials have already received one formal request for assistance from an affected county, and expect to receive more requests soon, according to the release.
Chicago officials announced Monday the city will begin estimating its damage to seek flood assistance from the Federal Emergency Management Agency, according to a release from the Office of Emergency Management and Communication.
"These storms had a devastating effect on many of our residents and their families," said Mayor Richard Daley said in the release. "This is a first step that the City and residents can take to try and alleviate the costs associated with the flooding."
The city will provide an official damage assessment to the Illinois Emergency Management Agency, who will then send a recommendation to FEMA, the release said.
Meanwhile, approximately 3,000 Cicero residents came to the west suburb's town hall Sunday to report damage to more than 2,000 properties, according to a release from Cicero spokesman Ray Hanania.
Total damage for the properties so far is pegged at about $12 million, but that number is expected to rise as more residents report damage through Monday night, according to the release.
Torrential downpours dumped an estimated 60 billion gallons of water on the Chicago area Friday night into early Saturday, prompting officials to open floodgates in Wilmette and on the Chicago River, reversing the flow of the river system to prevent flooding and sending storm water contaminated with sewage into the lake. All 190 miles of the Deep Tunnel system filled quickly, according to the district.
The most severe flooding was reported in suburban Westchester -- where Village President Sam Pulia called the damage "ungodly."
The flooding in Westchester began about 1 a.m. Saturday, and some residents were evacuated later that morning after water was up to the waist in some areas and to the tops of cars in other areas, Pulia said.
Cicero Town President Larry Dominick declared that nearby west suburb a disaster area, also as a result of intense flooding to homes and properties, according to a release.
As of Monday afternoon, service has been restored to virtually 170,000 ComEd customers whose power was knocked out by the intense storms, according to a ComEd release.
About 90 percent of customers saw power restored within 14 hours of the outages, and crews are still working to restore power in suburban Hinsdale, where equipment that was flooded and damaged by the Salt Creek River, according to the release. Crews are also working to restore power to a South Loop high-rise whose underground garage was flooded.
A swim ban on Chicago's beaches also continues on Monday because of the river reversal, according to the Chicago Park District.
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