Take heart, flood of 1987 was much worse
Current flooding in Chicago's suburbs is undeniably bad -- but we've been through worse.
Rising waters are prompting comparisons to notorious floods from two decades ago -- almost to the day -- but forecasters don't expect conditions to get as dire.
In 1987, the storm of the century unleashed 9.5 inches of rain on the Chicago area in 17 hours on Aug. 13 and 14.
It was the worst downpour in 117 years of record-keeping. It flooded thousands of homes along the Des Plaines River and Salt Creek, caused $78 million in damage, and led parts of Cook and DuPage counties to be declared disaster areas.
Less than a year before that, another storm caused widespread flooding along the Des Plaines through both Cook and Lake counties.
It was blamed for five deaths and at least $35 million in damages to homes and businesses, and led President Ronald Reagan to declare the region a disaster area.
Current flooding is more subdued.
Where the river peaked in Gurnee at almost 12 feet in 1986, it was expected to stay below 10 feet today.
The river reached almost 11 feet in Des Plaines in 1986. It's forecast to stop at 9.6 today, more than a foot lower.
Along the Fox River, Algonquin is due to reach the major stage at 4 feet today. That still won't crack its top five floods of the past, none of which came in 1986 or 1987.
The main difference this time around is that the rains came over a broader area and a longer time, according to Arlan Juhl, manager of planning for the Illinois Department of Natural Resources' office of water resources.
In addition, while stormwater projects have come slowly, they have helped, especially in DuPage County.
DuPage has made major flood control improvements since 1987, including the use of the Elmhurst Quarry and other sites as reservoirs that have helped keep Salt Creek inside its banks.
The extra time has also allowed emergency workers to prepare better and recruit more volunteers, Des Plaines public relations officer Karen Henrikson said.
"We're just very thankful (that) hopefully it won't get as bad," she said. "This time we're a little more prepared."