Marathon Pundit: Flooding clobbers Chicago area

That's the North Branch of the Chicago River in Morton Grove, I took these photographs an hour ago from the Beckwith Avenue bridge. Under normal conditions, which is tricky ascertain regarding a river, the North Branch is about a foot deep in most places. Right now? Maybe 10 feet. That tree trunk is resting on top of the railings of a foot bridge.

The good news is that the North Branch is almost completely surrounded by forest preserves until it reaches Chicago's Northwest Side.

The bad news is that every river and stream in the Chicago area has exceeded flood stage--there are many homes and businesses that abut the banks of the Fox, Des Plaines, the DuPage, and the Kankakee. On Saturday, over six inches of rain came down in Chicago--a record. I've spoken to many friends and relatives who have flooded basements. The city's Northwest Side and the nearby suburbs seem to have been hit the worst; the village of Des Plaines, which is five miles to the west of me, has been declared a disaster area by Mayor Anthony Arredia. On the lower left is a police officer directing drivers south--away from the Des Plaines River--at River Road where it meets Ballard. I took that photograph yesterday: Today, the local media is telling people to stay away from Des Plaines.