Results tagged “flooding”

  

There's been plenty of rain this autumn, particularly in Western Illinois where there's been flooding along both the Mississippi and Illinois Rivers. The quick eyes of NASA were able to catch some cool images of the flooding via satellites.

This weekend’s weather is wreaking havoc all over the place. More than 100 flights at O’Hare were cancelled due to the weather. Delays averaged more than two hours yesterday. As of this morning, the Aviation Department had not reported any delays for today.

With so much flooding hitting our area again - and reports of flooding already coming in, including the Bishop Ford and Dan Ryan - be sure to check up on road conditions if you have to travel. Traffic.com is a good start. Be safe out there.

Todd Stroger, the beloved President of the Cook County Board of Commissioners, today issued a reminder via press release that December 2, 2008 is the deadline to apply for FEMA assistance for disaster relief stemming from this fall's flooding. According to the release, "To date, more than 30,000 businesses and residents have filed a claim through FEMA for assistance in the wake of this fall’s catastrophic flooding, with FEMA disbursing $35 million to impacted counties, including Cook. A full 88% of those funds – $33.5 million – have been disbursed to Cook County residents alone." To apply, call FEMA at 1-800 621-FEMA (3362).

It's been almost two weeks since Albany Park (and several other parts of the Chicago Metro Area) suffered from horrible flooding. But the story has already faded from media headlines, even as residents just now begin the hardest part of recovery. One group of Albany Park residents, however, has taken to the Internet to keep others informed. Albany Park Neighbors is a blog that keeps neighborhood residents informed of meetings and other recovery efforts, as well as allowing residents to share their personal story. So if you're from the area or just want to know what's going on as the neighborhood recovers, surf by. Meanwhile, Gov. Blagojevich asked President Bush on Wednesday to declare Cook, DeKalb, DuPage, Grundy, Kane, LaSalle and Will Counties as disaster areas to secure federal recovery funds for those areas.

As neighborhoods like Albany Park and many suburbs begin to dry out and clean up from this weekend's flooding, residents are beginning to ask for help from the federal government. Senator Dick Durbin was joined by 39th Ward Alderman Margaret Laurino, and a representative from Barack Obama's office to get a first-hand look at the massive flooding that happened from this weekend's intense rains. Said Durbin:

This has been devastating. A lot of these folks don't have insurance to cover this. One hundred billion gallons of water dumped on any community . . . is something you can't prepare for. I think when we need FEMA, they will be here.

Fitting that as we approach Friday's third Katrina-versary, FEMA should once again rear it's ugly head. The government agency has turned down Illinois' appeal for relief stemming from March's flooding in southern Illinois. Governor Blagojevich claimed 659 homes were impacted from the flood, including 228 of which were either heavily damaged or destroyed. No word yet on how FEMA will blatantly ignore the victims of Tropical Storm Fay.

It's not just FEMA that's stepping up to help the flood ravaged Midwest. PAWS Chicago has a dozen dogs that they've rescued from flooding in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. While most of the dogs come from families that can no longer care for them, at least one canine was found floating in the water.

Now might be the time to adopt that dog you keep saying you're going to get. Animal shelters throughout Illinois are taking in hundreds of dogs and cats in need of new homes due to the recent flooding in nearby communities. Sally Matay, president of Illinois Animal Rescue, is receiving up to 1,000 e-mails a day from people looking for a good home for their pets as many families lost their houses or just can't financially afford them anymore.

• Turning bad to good, the parents of NIU shooting victim Daniel Parmenter planted an oak tree in his memory at the Elmhurst baseball park where he spent his youth. They’ve also created a scholarship to help children attend baseball or umpire training camps.
• Nine of the 17 Chicago victims of tomato-linked salmonella poisoning have been linked to one restaurant. 29 cases have been reported in Illinois, and there are now 23 states dealing with the epidemic. The Department of Public Health is not naming the restaurant at this time, but says the restaurant was shut down for 48 hours.
• In other infectious disease news, last weekend, we told you about the hotel hot tub that linked two people with Legionnaire’s disease. Well this weekend a third person has been linked to the same hot tub.
• Eight people have been killed in and around the city this weekend. The Trib has the tally.
• More rain came today. Flooding continues to rise in the north suburbs. And Iowans are now beginning to refer to their circumstance as “Our Katrina.”

• Tomorrow, on Father’s Day, Obama and his family will be attending a new church. At least that’s what he told talk show host Jimmy Kimmel on Friday.
• Metra expects at $20 million short fall, due to increased costs of diesel fuel. This despite a record 7-million riders. They’ll fix it by delaying plans to increase service, which puts Metra on-track with having standing customers. Huh?
• McDonald’s is reintroducing sliced tomatoes to their menu in the next seven to ten days after yanking them as a precaution. The FDA still hasn’t isolated the source of the salmonella bacteria.
• Cook County foreclosures are now worse than the U.S. average. Foreclosures were up 57% in May. Despite this, officials say we’re still faring better than most of the nation.
• Flooding. Flooding. And more flooding. Amtrak just announced they've suspended service on two lines between Chicago and the West Coast. Track river levels here.
• Daley says CTA’s current rail system is outdated. Really? He says he put the brakes on the downtown “Super Station” until they get the right technology.
• Johnson hits a homer to help the Cubs beat the Blue Jays in Toronto earlier today.
• Alderman Toni Preckwinkle is urging Daley to create a new Tax-Incriment Financing District to generate the millions needed to turn the closing Michael Reese Hospital into a $1.1 billion Olympic Village.