A Wet Midwest Watches, Waits

As a daylong drizzle fell Friday, residents along the Illinois River closely watched water levels and hoped the extra rain wouldn’t worsen flooding.

At Betty Hamm’s riverfront home in Bath, muddy, swirling flood waters concealed the bright blooms in her flower garden. Hamm had planned to stay put, but she decided to flee Friday after her gas was cut off.

“When it gets this high, it starts to scare me,” she said.

Other states also were hit by flooding. Flood watches continued Friday over southern Indiana, and rain continued in Missouri. Floods this month have been blamed for eight deaths in Missouri and, on Thursday, contributed to an 8-year-old boy’s drowning in Illinois.

In Indiana, some river communities saw improvement Friday.

“Things have calmed down quite a bit,” said Alden Taylor, a state emergency management spokesman. “The rain we had last night really didn’t cause any problems.”

He said most rivers in the state were receding or holding steady.

Sen. Jean Carnahan (D-Mo.) urged President Bush to act quickly on Gov. Bob Holden’s request for emergency assistance for flooded communities in Missouri.

The Mississippi River appeared to have crested at Crystal City, despite sometimes heavy rain Thursday and Friday. City officials, neighbors and volunteers had piled thousands of sandbags to protect their property.

“Everybody just digs in and helps out in this community,” resident Ron Sparks said. “We’ve never asked for help; people just show up. That’s why I live here.”

In Chandlerville, just south of Bath, flood waters began to recede after the nearby Sangamon River crested at a record high late Thursday. The agricultural town of about 700 came within feet--possibly inches--of being inundated.

Water covered almost a mile of farmland between Chandlerville and the river, but the flood stopped at the elevated and sandbagged roadbed of Highway 78.

Volunteers began filling sandbags May 8 in Chandlerville, and the efforts continued Friday.

“People thought we had a screw loose for being too cautious,” Mayor Tim Richard said. “The worst thing you could do when something like this might come is sit back and wonder if it will happen.”

During the last month, as much as 10 inches of rain has fallen along the Illinois and Sangamon rivers.

Chris Tamminga, spokeswoman for the Illinois Emergency Management Agency, said the Illinois River from Grafton to Lacon likely will remain closed to boat traffic until flood waters begin receding. The crest in some towns is not expected until Tuesday.