Kane County emergency staff: Here comes the sun, relief

The worst of the flooding is over, Kane County officials said Monday. Sunshine and the Federal Emergency Management Agency are on their way.

Skies remained overcast throughout Monday, but no more rain fell to exasperate the up to 10 inches that deluged the area over the past couple of days. Rivers, streams and other tributaries had all crested and began to recede throughout the county by late Monday, signaling the end of filling bags with sand and the start of filling trash bins with soggy devastation.

Kane County Office of Emergency Management Director Don Bryant said South Elgin seemed to receive the brunt of the water, but areas in and near Campton Hills and Sugar Grove also took a beating. As of Monday afternoon, about 20 county roads remained closed to traffic either because of standing water or because of the damage water caused to the pavement.

Bryant said this flood event stood out from other recent events because it seemed to hit farms and rural areas the most before flowing over to the more populated portions of the county. Northern Kane County saw almost no ill effects from the rains. Bryant and his staff will focus on damage assessments for central and southern Kane the next few days in preparation for the arrival of FEMA officials. Should FEMA deem the those areas a disaster, as both the county and state have, then federal dollars will help pay for the relief effort. FEMA officials are not due in the county until late this week or early next week, Bryant said.

Kane County Board Chairman Karen McConnaughay said Monday that maybe it was time to start rethinking the term 100-year storm event as heavy rains that cause flooding seem to happen every couple years now.

"I think that comment was made a few times over this weekend by more than a few people," McConnaughay said.

Still, she said, it could've been worse. McConnaughay recalled storms in 1996 that brought 17 inches of rain in 17 hours. Then, just as now, the best remedy was sunny skies, she said. The forecast for today calls for lots of sun and temperatures around 74 degrees.