Little Calumet River Flooding

Here we go again are the people in place and being paid to watch the river 24 hrs a day for the next several days.

All it takes is for the river to backup in Gary on king and there goes Munster again.

Will they rebuild will the insurance companies raise rates?

Do you think the last flood was a 100 year flood as they claim?

Hart Ditch in Munster above flood stage


Northwest Indiana and the Chicago area are under a flash flood warning until 9:45 this morning as heavy rains and thunderstorms soak the region.

Merrillville Police dispatcher Megan Vargas warns drivers to be aware of high standing water on roadways.

None of the roads are impassable, Vargas said. "But we're getting there."

Indiana State Patrolman Frederick Blohm responded to a minor crash this morning on Interstate 80/94 at Cline Avenue.

Blohm said the motorist was driving too fast causing the car to hydroplane. He cautions motorists to be aware of standing water.

Tollroad Dispatcher Celeste Wordinger also warns drivers to be careful on ramps and berms where some slick spots remain.

As of 6:54 a.m., the National Weather Service estimates that between a half inch to an inch of rain has fallen across Northwest Indiana and Northeast Illinois. Totals of one to three inches are likely.

Hart Ditch in Munster is already above flood stage and rapidly rising. The National

Weather Service reports that Deer Creek in Chicago Heights and Butterfield Creek in Flossmoor also are rapidly rising and likely to flood shortly.

A flood warning continues through Sunday for the Little Calumet River in Munster affecting Lake County and Thorn Creek at Thornton affecting Cook County. Rapid snowmelt and heavy rainfall today will lead to some potentially significant rises on the rivers.

Light to moderate rainfall is expected to continue across the region through the midmorning hours. Emergency management in Illinois is reporting basement flooding in Naperville, Addison and Elmhurst.

The National Weather Service warns that it won’t take much for flooding to occur across the warning area as heavy rainfall combines with one to two inches of snow melt.



http://www.nwi.com/articles/2008/12/27/updates/breaking_news/doc495622a762000469699715.txt#blogcomments

calm down everyone.

first off. there is a difference between flood stage and actual flooding over the banks. flood stage is simply a term used for the water line at the lowest bank along a river or stream.

so a river could be well above flood stage...but if the water is already beyond the lowest point of the bank, which (as the lowest bank is always upstream) is most often the case....no flooding will actually occur.

its always good to be on guard for flooding. but the panic mode the times and others have been feeding is rediculous. all of the ice and snow in the region melting at once wouldnt have added up to an inch in equivalent of rain fall (something like 11 inches of snow=1 inch) and with only an inch or so of rain coming down....that adds up to two inches of precip hitting the rivers and streams all at once.

the flooding that occurred last year...was from 6 inches of rain within a 36 hour period.

now mind you. there could be local flooding issues as some street drains may not be clear...or some pumps may malfunction...etc...

but as for river or stream flooding? that was never really an issue.

The little Calumet in Munster has rose from 6 to 9 ft since 6 AM Look at the chart.

Historical Crests
(1) 17.31 ft on 09/14/2008
(2) 17.03 ft on 11/28/1990
(3) 16.40 ft on 06/14/1981
(4) 16.20 ft on 07/19/1996
(5) 16.03 ft on 12/04/1982

15.0 Flooding begins to affect some residences near the river.
12.0 Minor overbank flooding immediately adjacent to the river begins.


If and when a flash flood hits you don't have time to sand bag either or it is your choice but be prepared to accept that you were forewarned and you chose not to mitigate damages which the insurance company will use against you.

So if you live close to the river a feeble attempt is better than no attempt if you follow my line of thinking.

http://www.crh.noaa.gov/ahps2/hydrograph.php?wfo=lot&gage=lcmi3

Here is the graph for South Holland the river is reaching flood Stage.

13.72 ft

Flood Categories (in feet)
Major Flood Stage: 20
Moderate Flood Stage: 18
Flood Stage: 16.5
Action Stage: 15

Historical Crests
(1) 20.50 ft on 11/28/1990
(2) 20.20 ft on 06/14/1981
(3) 20.16 ft on 09/14/2008
(4) 20.11 ft on 07/14/1957
(5) 20.01 ft on 07/19/1996

19.0 Water reaches buildings on Drexel Rd.
18.0 Water covers Riverview and Drexel roads. Thorn Creek begins to cover 170th Street.
15.0 Water enters Veterans Park.



http://www.crh.noaa.gov/ahps2/hydrograph.php?wfo=lot&gage=shli2&view=1,1,1,1,1,1,1,1&toggles=10,7,8,2,9,15,6&type=0

I'm listening to my scanner and the railroads of the region are flooding and ther is local flooding ongoing.

Add to that now there is a tornado watch until 7 pm for the area.

Area rivers and creeks surge to flood stage



The Little Calumet River was flowing well above flood stage Sunday morning, but no breaches of the levy have been reported in the Town of Munster or elsewhere.

Other area creeks and rivers including the Kankakee River are flowing above flood stage but below the record levels of September, when flooding devastated the region.

The Little Calumet at Munster was at 14.04 feet at 5:15 a.m., Sunday, after it surged above the flood level of 12 feet Saturday night, according to the National Weather Service.

The Kankakee River at Sumava Resorts was at 10.91 feet on Sunday morning, which is almost two feet above flood level.

But roadways in the Sumava Resorts area remained open, according to long-time resident Dennis Strain.

The Little Calumet levels were stable over night and into Sunday morning and still more than 3 feet lower than September's historic crest of 17.31 feet at Munster. That's when flooding devastated Munster, Lake Station, parts of Gary and other communties in Northwest Indiana and Illinois.

"We escaped this time, no question," said Seja Hinich, as she and her parents checked out the Little Calumet River at Northcote Avenue early Sunday morning.

Hinich helped her parents evacuate their Northcote home in September as floods ravaged the neighborhood and the entire north side of Munster.

"It's just a tremendous relief," Hinich said. "My parents got hit (by storms) in both August and September."

Thunderstorms packing strong winds rumbled across the region Saturday. Temperatures soared into the 60s and above, and the weather service said a record high of 73 was set in Evansville, Ind.. The old record for the date was 67.

The National Weather Service was forecasting an end to the precipitation for Sunday and through the middle of the week, which should lower water levels on rivers and creeks.


http://www.nwi.com/articles/2008/12/28/updates/breaking_news/doc495772a84ba09355048908.txt

That was a close call and it was a warning . There has been millions of tons of debris washed down stream into Gary where it will settle till the next heavy rain.

Never underestimate the power of mother nature with the help of miscreants be advised they know where the narrows are.

I have had to call the DNR on more than one occasion to report conditions on the river which were caused by man attempting to cause floods.

If you are depending on the city of Gary to hold up it's bargain you are sadly mistaken the county needs to hire someone in the city of Gary that knows the river and have crews there at moments notice to remove obstructions at the narrows.

:beathorse:

Jones said he would have preferred to see the town start sandbagging during the day, though, just so they wouldn’t have to do it late at night in colder weather. He compared the town’s actions to that of the September floods, when Munster officials waited to start sandbagging.
“This is the same thing they told us in September,” he said.

Other residents talked with Jones and tried to get a view of the measuring stick at Northcote bridge that shows the water levels. Although they were concerned, no one had immediate plans to start packing up.
“All we’re doing is sitting and waiting in our houses,” resident Steve Yekel said. “It’s just a waiting game.”
In Griffith, officials didn’t expect anything catastrophic, either, but said they will remain vigilant should that change.

Town Council President Rick Ryfa said Public Works was out early Saturday cleaning out inlets and grates of leaves and other debris. Because of those efforts, the water was flowing like it should.

“(Cady Marsh) Ditch was high this morning, but after cleaning everything out, we’re ready to go if something happens,” Ryfa said, adding that the town has pumps at the ready for any emergency.


http://www.post-trib.com/news/1351748,noflood1.article

Just heard it is now flooding in Gary.

There are some people on the job!