Franks urging Bruce Rauner to call special session on IL budget

Pontoon Beach Mayor Mike Pagano said 250 to 300 residents had to be evacuated due to high water. Fifteen of the dead were in Missouri and seven in IL.

Speaking to reporters Saturday at Carlyle Lake in Clinton County, Rauner said some residents are leaving, but others are staying put.

Nixon’s office said in a release Saturday he has asked for the declaration to help speed the removal of flood debris and help with recovery costs for the St. Louis area, which was hit by historic flooding along the MS and Meramec rivers this week.

The Illinois National Guard was ordered into action Friday and hundreds of people urged to flee rising floodwaters, as the death toll from days of heavy rain in the US Midwest mounted. She felt lucky to find the damage isolated to her crawl space when she returned for the first time Thursday.

On Saturday, Illinois’ governor resumed his tour of flood-damaged areas for the second day, with planned stops in Cairo and Olive Branch.

And minor flooding along the Ohio River was affecting the Kentucky cities of Owensboro and Paducah.

Allenville is frequently flooded, so the inconvenience is old hat to residents there, many of whom were using boats to get around, according to Cape Girardeau County emergency management director Richard Knaup said.

Sandbags were placed on top of a levee surrounding an Ameren Corp. substation near Cape Girardeau in hopes of keeping it dry. The crest prediction at Cape Girardeau expected Sunday was upgraded to a foot and a half above the 1993 record. Those are tragic, but I know this community will recover.

Approximately 20 soldiers from the 2-130th Infantry Battalion, 33rd Infantry Brigade Combat Team were ordered to report to the Illinois Army National Guard’s Marion Readiness Center early on New Year’s Day.

Divers have concentrated their search in flooded areas where one of the teen’s cellphone was tracked. It’s not just the water; it’s the temperature.

“They are used to being isolated and cut off, but with this record height, we’re confident some homes will get wet”, Knaup said.

The main culprit in the St. Louis region was the Meramec River, a relatively small MS tributary that bombarded communities in the far southwestern reaches of the St. Louis suburbs during the week.

The next several weeks will tell a lot for the 12 counties declared a disaster area as the water begins to recede.