MARION - It was a long weekend for Marion first responders and city workers as rainwaters soon turned to floodwaters on Saturday morning.
An estimated 8 1/2 inches of precipitation collected in less than 24 hours time, leaving low-lying areas in Marion and Williamson County completely submerged in some instances and threatened the safety of some homeowners and their families.
Flooding at the Lighthouse Shelter (1101 N. Madison St. in Marion), for example, forced firefighters to evacuate residents to the Senior Citizens Center. They were later transferred to St. Joseph's Catholic Church, where a temporary Red Cross headquarters has been established. They remained there Sunday evening.
Additionally, a handful of residents were evacuated to the church from South Mechanic and Jones streets.
Assistant fire chief Tim Stotlar said no fires were reported Saturday, but there were two instances in which basement flooding knocked over gas cans.
"The gas was so diluted from the water, though, that there was not an issue in either case," Stotlar said.
Marion city commissioner Anthony Rinella said Saturday was "a bad day" for the community. It was the worst flooding he could recall in at least 10 years and probably in the last 20-plus years, which was before the city's flood-control project was initiated.
Flood control, Rinella explained, featured storm sewer replacement primarily on Main and Court streets.
"And I'm happy to say those areas did not flood out downtown."
Some roads that did, however, include: Old Creal Springs Road, south of Boyton Street; South Market from Allen Street all the way to Crab Orchard Creek; some areas of South Van Buren and Liberty streets; Wildcat Road; East Main Street by Jones Construction and at Washington School; South Fair Street at Pickett Lane; Ashley Park; West Main Street just past Halfway Road; portions of Boulevard Street and also South Future Street just south of College Street.
Even a portion of Illinois 13 from Madison to Market was shut down by the Illinois Department of Transportation for a period of time.
"It was hard to deal with this much water, but I thought our city workers did a great job. Many worked long hours Saturday," Rinella said. "We used every road barricade we had. We even had to use city vehicles to block off traffic from entering certain roads."
Safety director Brian Fisher said he has never seen such flooding before.
"It could have been a lot worse," he said. "Fortunately, nobody was hurt."
Fisher and city department heads gathered at city hall Sunday afternoon to assess the flooding situation and make plans for cleanup efforts and prepare for additional rains later this week.
Street department superintendent Doug Phillips said what helped prevent the flooding problem from worsening was the fact that city workers did a good job of preventative maintenance.
"We got out and cleared our sewer lines and ditches the best that we could in anticipation of these rains," he said. "Today (Sunday), we still have four roads closed, but the water is receding. It was 5 1/2 feet high in some spots, like at Boyton and South Market."
Phillips said 18 city workers responded to the call for weekend work and most of them logged double-digit hours of work over the weekend.
Williamson County Emergency Management Agency Director Kelly Urhahn said she was pleased with the communication and cooperation between municipalities and the county.
"We have played a proactive role, reaching out to each jurisdiction, asking what was needed," she said. "Our highway department workers were out all weekend assessing the damage and placing barricades where they were needed."
Urhahn said the weekend's torrential downpour was anything but normal, perhaps a once-a-decade event.
"But everyone seems to have worked together well."
Urhahn added that while she has been in contact with the state's emergency management agency in Springfield, she has not yet sought assistance from the state.
"Right now, it's just a matter of keeping everyone in the loop should we need to ask for help," Urhahn said. "It's all about safety first. We want our citizens to know that we are here to help."
Extrications were also needed in Johnston City and Herrin.
A spokesman with the Herrin Fire Department said three residents were transported from their homes Saturday by boat at the Pine and 5th Street intersection.
