Lake County IL Flood Situation - 11:30 a.m., July 24, 2017

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7/24/2017 11:30 a.m. Emergency Management Partners Update


Current Conditions

The storms that passed through Lake County this weekend brought less than an inch of rain and had a negligible impact on our river levels. The forecast calls for the potential of heavy rain, damaging winds and hail overnight Wednesday and into Thursday morning. The current forecast calls for a 60% to 70% chance of thunderstorms Wednesday night/Thursday morning bringing a potential of 0.5” to 1” of rain.  

Emergency Management and Stormwater Management will monitor weather forecasts and the potential threat to Lake County and will provide updates as necessary.

Fox River/Chain O'Lakes and Des Plaines River
The Fox River (at New Munster gauge) is at minor flood stage. The Fox Lake and Lower Fox River remain at major flood stage but levels are dropping. The Des Plaines River at all gauges is at minor flood stage. 


Disaster/Flood Assistance

The Red Cross Multi-Agency Resource Center (MARC) processed 1015 clients Thursday through Saturday. The MARC is now closed. Residents needing human services assistance should contact the Red Cross directly at 847-220-7495. The Salvation Army donation hotline is 1-888-369-1349.

For other flood information and assistance, contact the Lake County EOC at 847-377-7100.   


Damage Assessment

The deadline to submit Damage Assessment forms to LC EMA is noon today. LC EMA will then compile all of the information for submission to IEMA to meet a Wednesday deadline. EMA will be reaching out to communities to coordinate.

Damage Assessment Forms: You can fill out IEMA damage assessment forms to be submitted directly to the Lake County Emergency Management Agency by email at room-43200@room.veoci.com.

  • Click this link to download the IA Form for private structures, such as houses or businesses: https://goo.gl/xmzQB1 (Instructions)
  • Click this link to download the PA Form for public costs, such as debris removal, damage to buildings and parks, etc.: https://goo.gl/MFCpU6

If you have questions filling out these forms, contact Lake County Emergency Management at 847-377-7100.

The US Civil Air Patrol and Lake County have captured photography of the flooded areas. Our 2017 Flood Event Viewer now has photos over the Fox River, Lake County Stormwater Management ground photos, and drone captures. 

For additional resources such as inundation maps, IEMA resources, and more, please visit the Public and Partner Dashboards in Veoci.

Public Dashboard in Veoci
Partner Dashboard in Veoci

National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP)
Once we have completed the initial damage assessment for submittal to IEMA early this week, communities participating in the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) should begin shifting their resources into completing the substantial damage assessments required by their local floodplain ordinances.

NFIP communities are required to enforce their local floodplain ordinances which requires a permit review prior to any repairs associated with damage structures.

An inspection must be made on all flood damaged structures.   Any structures located within the FEMA regulatory floodplain where the costs to repair flood damages equals or exceed 50% of the structure’s market value are considered “substantially damaged”.  Any structures found to be substantially damaged (or cumulatively substantially damaged by multiple flood events) must be brought into compliance with the floodplain ordinance’s regulations (i.e. elevated). 

It is very important that residents be notified of this requirement and that accurate damage determinations take place prior to the repair and reconstruction of flood damaged structures.

Paul Osman from the IDNR Office of Water Resources will be onsite on Wednesday to provide training on the NFIP requirements, the inspection process, along with the FEMA Substantial Damage Estimator program used to calculate substantial damage. Community floodplain managers and inspectors should plan to attend. The training will be held Wednesday, July 26 at 1:30 PM at the Libertyville Village Hall.


Resources

As a reminder, EMA partners are encouraged to contact Lake County Emergency Management at 847-377-7100 if you need assistance. We have the following on-hand. 

  • Sandbags
  • Clean-Up Kits 
  • Assistance to identify volunteers needed to help with clean-up (*need advanced notice)
  • Assistance with locating equipment for you. 
  • Partners can submit resource requests here


      Public Form For Reporting Flood Damage

      Public Form

      We created a form for the public to submit damages to their property so we know how they have been impacted by the recent flooding. So far, we have received nearly 2500 submissions. This information will be available to our partners. Please share this link with others in your community: https://goo.gl/5bG3pU


      Mosquitoes

      The Lake County Health Department sent out a news release last week stating that a mosquito pool sampled on July 14 in Zion tested positive for West Nile virus. The Health Department is urging residents to follow the 4 D’s of Defense to help prevent breeding and protect themselves from mosquito bites.

      Please call the West Nile hotline at 847-377-8300 to report areas of stagnant water, report locations of dead birds, and learn the signs and symptoms of West Nile virus.

      Flood Web Page

      We created a flood web page, lakecountyil.gov/flood for residents that we encourage you to share! The page features information about assistance, news and other resources. 


      Road Update

      Center Street in Grayslake:
      LCDOT is on site at a partial pavement failure at a large culvert on Center Street, just east of IL 83 in Grayslake. The heavy flash flooding on July 12-13 in Grayslake undermined the culvert leading to a partial collapse of the pavement. LCDOT is currently evaluating both short-term and long-term repair strategies that will determine whether the roadway can remain open to traffic.  Please check Lake County PASSAGE for road closures and up-to-date traffic information.  

      Office: 847-377-7100

      LC Emergency Management

      24-hour dispatch: 847-549-5200