Des Plaines preparing for worst

The city of Des Plaines has gone into emergency mode as it prepares for what could be a worse flood than the record-breaking one in 1986.

The city is offering sandbags at more than a dozen locations and has opened an emergency shelter for residents who need to leave their homes.

Will Soderberg, spokesman for Des Plaines, says the city is expecting the Des Plaines River to reach 11 feet, 3 inches by 1 a.m. Sunday morning - a record that would eclipse the disastrous flood of 1986, when water was 10 feet, 5 inches over flood stage.

Currently, the river is 7 feet, 5 inches high; over the usual flood stage of 5 feet, Soderberg said.

All around the Northwest suburbs, basements are flooded, streets are impassable and creeks are overflowing. Countless local streets are closed, as well as many major thoroughfares.

River Road through most of Des Plaines and Mount Prospect has been closed, as the river has hit the top of its banks, and some nearby local streets already have more than a foot of water.

In Mount Prospect, River Road is closed to all except local traffic between Camp McDonald Road and Old Willow Road.

In Des Plaines, River Road is closed between Miner Street and Touhy Avenue. Also closed is Northwest Highway at the "S" curve under the Wisconsin Central tracks, which is filled with water and debris and several cars already had to be towed out.

Other closures: Dempster and Potter; Algonquin Road from Mount Prospect to Elmhurst roads; Oakton Street from Mount Prospect to Elmhurst roads; Lee Street, from Algonquin to Thacker; Graceland, from Thacker to Algonquin; and Golf Road from River to East River roads.

"We're working as hard as we can," said Des Plaines City Manager Jason Bajor. "It's a challenge but we're doing our best."

Meanwhile, the Red Cross has opened a shelter at Prairie Lakes Community Center, 515 E. Thacker St. that will stay open around the clock as long as it's needed. Three women are staffing the shelter, where there are cots, blankets, hot water for tea and coffee and snacks, and they say they can order out for hot food.

One door of the Prairie Center will remain unlocked all night, so people will be able to get inside.

The Red Cross said they have the ability to open nine such shelters in the Chicago area, but so far Des Plaines is the only community to request one.

Public works crews in Mount Prospect have set up a concrete and sandbag barrier down the middle of River Road between Woodview and Seminole. The barrier is designed to keep the river water from reaching the homes across the street.

Two pumps are already going in that area, that are pulling water from the sewer system and pushing it into the river, in an effort to keep area basements from flooding.

Meanwhile, Des Plaines is offering do-it-yourself sandbags at the following locations:

• Big Bend Drive at Hawthorn

• Junior Terrace

• Mill Street

• River Drive, south of Stewart

• the public works headquarters at Algonquin and Campground Road

• Devonshire School

• North and Cordial

• River and Howard

• Grove and Woodland

• Chase and Magnolia

• Shagbark Lane

• Barry Lane

• Willow and Graceland

• Birchwood, at the dead end

• Christ Church, Cora and Henry streets

• Bennett Place and Locust Street

In the Christ Church parking lot, Margaret Conley was among the 20 or so people filling sandbags to take to their homes. She lives at River Road and Henry Avenue, where the river water is threatening to go over the sandbag wall she built earlier, so now she's trying to make it higher. It's been a stressful day.

"I cried for about an hour, I punched things for about an hour; now I'm just going with the flow," Conley said.

Steven Brody, who lives on nearby Walnut, was there with a posse of friends, all of whom were scooping and carrying.

"I've got people to help me," he said, "and we do what we can do."

Brody is the soccer coach at Oakton Community College, and he went to inspect his fields today. He found two of them completely submerged and the third nearly so.

At Chase and Magnolia, James Krzywda was filling up sandbags for his nearby home, where he's lived for 10 years.

"It's a beautiful neighborhood, I don't mind the water. It's the sewage that's the problem," he said.

All around the area, homeowners were running hoses down their driveways to help pull water from their basements.

In Rolling Meadows, the city activated its emergency operating center this morning, in which all the department heads, including the city manager and fire and police chiefs, gather in one room to coordinate efforts.

"We have measured more than six inches of rain," said Mayor Ken Nelson. He added that Schaumburg had seven inches and the entire area has been deluged.

About 40 people in two buildings of the Willow Bend condo and apartment complex north of Algonquin Road on the east side of Salt Creek were evacuated this afternoon. Some are staying at the local Holiday Inn per a village arrangement and others have gone to friends or relatives.

The other two buildings at the complex were still OK Saturday afternoon but sandbaggers have been at work there in hopes those residents can stay.

Nelson added low lying areas and detention ponds all over Rolling Meadows are overflowing and they've gotten about a dozen reports of basements with water.

Sandbags and sand are available for residents at the main Public Works garage, 3900 Berdnick St.

Staff Writers Eric Peterson and Mick Zawislak contributed to this report.

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