December 17, 2024
State | Northwest Herald
State

Shelters open in northern Illinois for flooding victims

By AP

The Rock River crested its banks and floods on Shore Drive on Saturday in Machesney Park. Many rivers and creeks in the Midwest are at record levels after days of snow and rain. (Scott P)

FREEPORT – Residents in northern and western Illinois continue to deal with flooding as rivers swell from melting snow and recent rains.

National Weather Service readings Monday show major flooding along the Pecatonica River at Shirland and Freeport and the Rock River in the Rockford area and Moline. The Mississippi River also is at major flood stage from New Boston, Illinois, south to Burlington, Iowa.

The American Red Cross has opened shelters in Rockford and Freeport and is giving free meals out in western Illinois to those displaced by flooding and volunteers.

Freeport City Manager Lowell Crow says officials expect the Pecatonica River "to possibly rise to a record level or at least to a level we haven't seen in 50 years."