New disaster proclamation for 36 Illinois counties
The financial costs of damage caused by flooding during 2019 were addressed at last week’s regular meeting of the Union County Board of Commissioners.
The meeting was Friday morning, July 26, at the Union County Courthouse in Jonesboro.
Union County Highway Department engineer Kevin Grammer said prior to the start of the meeting that costs in the range of $552,000 have been incurred as a result of the flooding.
Grammer said that county roads which have been affected by flooding were starting to reopen and that repair work was underway.
During Friday’s meeting, board of commissioners chairman Max Miller said that overall flood costs incurred by the county are estimated to be in the range of $675,000.
The board chairman also made note of plans to reopen roads to Cape Girardeau which have been closed due to flooding.
Illinois Routes 146 and 3 in the McClure/East Cape Girardeau areas have been reopened, the Southeast Missouri newspaper reported.
In related news, Gov. JB Pritzker on Friday, July 26, extended his previous state disaster proclamations with a new disaster proclamation for the 36 most-affected counties as flooding continues to threaten river communities throughout the state.
The Illinois Emergency Management Agency, IEMA, reported that flood fighting, dewatering activities and emergency protective measures were still ongoing in some areas of the state.
The areas that remain inaccessible continue to present life-safety issues for citizens, requiring sustained and specialized response capabilities.
Friday’s state disaster proclamation continues to include the following 36 counties:
Adams, Alexander, Brown, Bureau, Calhoun, Carroll, Cass, Fulton, Greene, Grundy, Hancock, Henderson, Henry, Jackson, Jersey, Jo Daviess, Knox, LaSalle, Madison, Marshall, Mason, Mercer, Monroe, Morgan, Peoria, Pike, Putnam, Randolph, Rock Island, Schuyler, Scott, St. Clair, Tazewell, Union, Whiteside and Woodford.
“This historic event continues to drain local resources for emergency response,” the governor said in a news release.
“This administration is committed to the continued response and recovery efforts. I have directed my cabinet to bring our collective resources to the table to help these communities in need.
“Additionally, our state agencies will continue to advocate to our federal stakeholders the importance of federal assistance to residents and local governments in the wake of this devastating disaster.”
Last week, the governor formally requested the Federal Emergency Management Agency, FEMA, to assist with damage assessments in 30 Illinois counties devastated by the extensive river flooding.
The assessments, which were scheduled to begin on July 29, will provide the documentation necessary to support a request for federal assistance.
Damage assessment teams, comprised of officials from FEMA, IEMA and U.S. Small Business Administration will be reviewing damage to homes, businesses, roads, levees and other critical infrastructure items.