Rains force several DuPage towns to declare emergency areas
Heavy rains continued to put a toll Sunday on DuPage County police, fire and public works crews struggling to cope with flooding throughout the suburbs.
Addison, one of the towns hit hardest by Sunday's rainstorms, has declared itself a disaster area in hopes that county officials would seek state and federal aid to help pay for damages caused by Salt Creek, which has risen to more than 8 feet above its normal levels.
Addison officials received more than 300 phone calls from residents dealing with flooding in their homes this weekend, said Don Weiss, community relations director for the village.
No injuries were reported, Weiss added, but residents living in the Villa Brook apartment complex and two residential subdivisions have been asked by the village to evacuate the area because of heavy flooding. Those evacuations, however, aren't mandatory.
"What we're telling people is if you've got someplace to go, then go," Weiss said.
Firefighters Sunday evacuated a quarter-mile by quarter-mile area south of Lake Street to Fullerton Avenue, and from Villa Street to Wisconsin Street.
At least 80 people have been taken out of their homes by rescue boat, officials said. Most have been either relocated to the Centennial Park Recreation Center, located at Lake Street and Rohlwing Road, or have arranged their own temporary quarters.
Four other DuPage towns - Bensenville, Glendale Heights, Warrenville and Wood Dale - have also declared states of emergencies and deployed municipal emergency operations centers. Since Saturday afternoon, DuPage County has distributed more than 85,000 sand bags to local communities and portions of Kane County to help manage rising waters.
The DuPage County Stormwater Management Division has opened all of the county's flood control devices. Most facilities are reaching their operational capacity, county officials said.
Flooding along the DuPage River, particularly in portions of Warrenville, forced county officials to increase the flow at the Fawell Dam. Several bridges over the DuPage River in Warrenville were still blocked Sunday because of high water.
Naperville officials closed the Eagle Street bridge Sunday because of rising waters along the DuPage River, and several businesses along Chicago Avenue between Main and Washington streets remained closed because of flooded basements. City crews made supplies for sandbags available near the Centennial Beach parking lot along Jackson Avenue for much of the day.
About 10 to 15 people needed to be evacuated from their homes by boat in Carol Stream, Fire Chief Michael Kanzia said. One of those evacuees, a quadriplegic, was then transported to Central DuPage Hospital for further care, he added.
"We had a few members of St. Luke (Catholic) Parish bring over some food for our guys and the people evacuated to the station," Kanzia said. "People in this town have been phenomenal in showing their support."
Several streets located immediately south of Armstrong Park, including sections of Illini Drive, Silverleaf Boulevard and Cochise Court, continued to be submerged Sunday under anywhere from two to four feet of water.
In Wheaton, flooding along sections of Main Street forced an engine and ambulance crew from the Wheaton Fire Department's station at 1700 Main St. to relocate Saturday to the Wheaton city hall. The five personnel were still working out of city hall on Sunday. Fire Station 2, located at 1590 S. President St., also lost power for part of the day but fire crews remained operating on site.
Several suburban festivals were canceled because of the rain Sunday, including Oktoberfest in Villa Park, a Mexican Independence Day parade and festival in West Chicago and a series of soapbox derby races in Naperville.
Dozens of roads remained closed Sunday due to flooding. For an updated listing of road closures, visit www.protectdupage.org.
• Daily Herald Staff Writer Kerry Lester contributed to this report.