Earlier this morning, Governor Bruce Rauner activated the Illinois State of Emergency Operations Center in Springfield. Rauner activated these operations to ensure that crews would be able to quickly deploy and assist in communities affected by flooding.
Following thunderstorms that moved through the area this past weekend, many areas of the state are dealing with flooding. Although the heavy rains and flash flooding have moved out of the state, river flooding is a main concern for this week. Should these communities need State assistance, many State agencies will deploy to their area. These agencies include the Illinois Emergency Management Agency, Illinois State Police, Illinois Department of Natural Resources, Illinois Department of Corrections, Illinois Department of Transportation, Illinois Department of Public Health, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, and the American Red Cross.
Governor Rauner stated, “Several inches of rain has caused our rivers to swell, which has caused flooding in some communities. In order to expedite any state assistance to protect residents and critical infrastructure, I activated the State Emergency Operations Center with personnel from several key agencies to quickly react to any requests”.
Many State resources are already assisting in flooded communities, such as inmates from the Illinois Department of Corrections assisting with sandbagging in Murpheysboro and Desoto, the Illinois Department of transportation delivering plastic and sandbags to Murphysboro, and traffic support being provided by the Illinois State Police. A shelter has also been set up in Marion if needed by the American Red Cross.
For additional information and updates, visit www.ready.illinois.gov.