East Peoria flood photos - April 24, 2013 - East Peoria Times-Courier
East Peoria Times-Courier-4 hours ago
According to the city of East Peoria, the river is at 29.2 feet. The river flooding is currently considered major at the present water level. It will be ...
Our View: Great Flood of 2013
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PEORIA —
The flood of the century so far is now in the books, and it's official: It was a record.
The new mark was set Tuesday with the river cresting at 29.4 feet, surpassing 1943's 28.8 feet. It landed - forgive the pun - Peoria on the national news, giving the impression as these reports always do that the whole city is under water, when in fact we're talking a few blocks at the foot of Peoria's Downtown Main Street, though some towns and some neighborhoods get hit harder than others - Chillicothe, Spring Bay, London Mills.
You certainly get the feeling that with global warming all these Great Depression- and World War II-era records are going to bite the dust one by one. Last summer it was the virtually unprecedented drought, and now it's the floods. Climate change is all about extremes, of course - dry, wet, hot, not. Why should the weather be any less interesting than everything else in this age of excess?
From a glass-half-full perspective, it has its advantages. Again, the national media descend on central Illinois, which beams Peoria into the homes of people who sometimes seem surprised to discover that we have both a skyline and a Fortune 50 company. It's a magnet for politicians who stop by for the photo-op and a chance to hand out a few goodies that voters can be reminded of come reelection time. (Gov. Quinn was here Tuesday to officially designate the flood as an excuse for local businesses and individuals to file their income tax returns late.)
It actually creates a little tourism as the curious stop by to be eyewitness to history. Why, we waited breathlessly for some young entrepreneur to set up a table selling T-shirts commemorating the Great Flood of '13, or to offer romantic gondola rides in this "Venice of the Prairie" at a modest price, only to have those hopes dashed (though we did see some canoeists Sunday afternoon circling around the River Station, Riverfront Village and the Gateway Building, not exactly an everyday sight).
Alas, all of that is outweighed by the downsides. Indeed, no doubt some with less to lose were silently rooting for 30 feet - if you're going to set a record, you might as well obliterate it with a nice, round number - but then you consider the personal toll and the extra damage another half foot of water can entail. Sometimes floods can lead to the forfeiture of more than just personal belongings, most of which can be replaced. Sometimes the consequences can be tragic - when a road is unexpectedly closed at night, or when water proves what a terrible partner it makes with electricity, or when someone is hurt in a flash flood or mud slide - all of which, thankfully, we have managed to avoid this time around. Livelihoods can be sacrificed for a time or forever, as may be the case with Bemer's Village Inn in Spring Bay, a restaurant that might not reopen. Beyond that floods can leave behind a terrible mess - fish don't always escape the basement - not to mention the financial hardship if you're not insured against loss.
end quote from:
Our View: Great Flood of 2013
The new mark was set Tuesday with the river cresting at 29.4 feet, surpassing 1943's 28.8 feet. It landed - forgive the pun - Peoria on the national news, giving the impression as these reports always do that the whole city is under water, when in fact we're talking a few blocks at the foot of Peoria's Downtown Main Street, though some towns and some neighborhoods get hit harder than others - Chillicothe, Spring Bay, London Mills.
You certainly get the feeling that with global warming all these Great Depression- and World War II-era records are going to bite the dust one by one. Last summer it was the virtually unprecedented drought, and now it's the floods. Climate change is all about extremes, of course - dry, wet, hot, not. Why should the weather be any less interesting than everything else in this age of excess?
From a glass-half-full perspective, it has its advantages. Again, the national media descend on central Illinois, which beams Peoria into the homes of people who sometimes seem surprised to discover that we have both a skyline and a Fortune 50 company. It's a magnet for politicians who stop by for the photo-op and a chance to hand out a few goodies that voters can be reminded of come reelection time. (Gov. Quinn was here Tuesday to officially designate the flood as an excuse for local businesses and individuals to file their income tax returns late.)
It actually creates a little tourism as the curious stop by to be eyewitness to history. Why, we waited breathlessly for some young entrepreneur to set up a table selling T-shirts commemorating the Great Flood of '13, or to offer romantic gondola rides in this "Venice of the Prairie" at a modest price, only to have those hopes dashed (though we did see some canoeists Sunday afternoon circling around the River Station, Riverfront Village and the Gateway Building, not exactly an everyday sight).
Alas, all of that is outweighed by the downsides. Indeed, no doubt some with less to lose were silently rooting for 30 feet - if you're going to set a record, you might as well obliterate it with a nice, round number - but then you consider the personal toll and the extra damage another half foot of water can entail. Sometimes floods can lead to the forfeiture of more than just personal belongings, most of which can be replaced. Sometimes the consequences can be tragic - when a road is unexpectedly closed at night, or when water proves what a terrible partner it makes with electricity, or when someone is hurt in a flash flood or mud slide - all of which, thankfully, we have managed to avoid this time around. Livelihoods can be sacrificed for a time or forever, as may be the case with Bemer's Village Inn in Spring Bay, a restaurant that might not reopen. Beyond that floods can leave behind a terrible mess - fish don't always escape the basement - not to mention the financial hardship if you're not insured against loss.
end quote from:
Our View: Great Flood of 2013
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