Chicago sops up after quick, heavy rains flood homes, businesses and roads

A flood watch for parts of the Chicago area is in effect until 10 p.m. Tuesday as cleanup continues from weekend rainfall that deluged streets and basements and overwhelmed sewer systems.

Water pouring from overpasses onto expressways and bursting geyser-like from breeched manhole covers were among the dramatic images circulating on social media after several inches of rain fell in a short span Sunday.

As of 10 a.m. Monday, 1,485 service requests were made in response to flooding that began the previous day, Chicago’s Office of Emergency Management and Communications said in a statement.

Nearly 1,200 calls were about flooded basements; another 300 were about streets underwater. Several flooded viaducts were also reported.

The Chicago area saw between 2.5 and 4.5 inches of rainfall throughout the city and suburbs, with the North Side of the city experiencing much of Chicago’s rainfall, said Todd Kluber, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service. In Chicago, the West Ridge neighborhood catalogued the most with about 4.25 inches.

Just under 2 inches were measured at O’Hare.

The rain fell especially fast on Sunday, making it difficult for the ground to absorb it, Kluber said. Parts of the city saw rain fall as fast as 6 to 8 inches per hour, a rate more akin to tropical systems, he said.

“We get those rates up here, but it’s not as common,” he said.

The weather services issues flood watches for the Des Plaines River at Lincolnshire and at the city of Des Plaines, affecting areas in northern and central Cook County and parts of Lake County. At Lincolnshire, the river was at 10.2 feet as of Monday morning and was possibly headed to a flood stage of 12.5 feet, the National Weather Service reported.

A beach hazard was also issued for Lake Michigan at Porter and Lake counties in Indiana until 3 p.m. Monday, with high waves dangerous currents rendering swimming conditions potential life-threatening.

There were no flooding-related road closures in Chicago as of Monday morning, OEMC said.

Officials are advising residents to use caution and avoid driving through standing water.

City residents and motorists can report water in their basement, standing water on their street, tree debris, flooded viaducts and traffic light outages at 311.chicago.gov or through the CHI 311 app that’s available in the App Store or Google Play.