Ike’s Wrath Hits Midwest; 1,000 Homeowners Evacuated, Roads Closed

Illinois Governor Declares State of Emergency

Midwest residents felt the wrath of Hurricane Ike on September 13 and 14 as rains made their way up the middle corridor of the country pelting Illinois and Indiana, spurring Illinois’ governor to call for a state of emergency for Cook County.

The declaration came after two days of record hard rainfall that created swollen rivers, filled up storm water systems and forced evacuations of at least 1,000 residents in metro’s south and north suburban area.

Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich issued a statement on September 14 saying the state will assist local agencies with recovery efforts. He would later add six additional counties as emergency areas.This emergency declaration will help suburbs get federal assistance to recover from the flooding, the governor said in an account on Channel 7, ABC-TV News Web site.

Flooding Impacts Roads

Expressways were closed due to flooding and many remained closed for several days. North of Chicago on the Edens Expressway several on and off ramps were blocked because the expressway was flooded, particularly under the overpasses.

In the southern suburbs the Bishop Ford Freeway from 95th to Interstate 80 remained closed for several days. The Borman Expressway was shut down from Calumet to Klein Avenue in northwest Indiana in both directions. At the time of this writing the Illinois Department of Transportation did not know when roadways would re-open.

Evacuations, School Closings

In addition to evacuations particularly around swollen rivers, many schools in Chicago and in southern Indiana remained closed on September 15 even as forecasts for drier, warmer weather for the rest of the week were issued by the National Weather Service.

Meanwhile, Indiana was feeling the affects of heavy rains and wind. In Munster, Ind., Munster hospital was evacuated and another hospital, St. Margarets, was put on Code Orange, meaning it was readying staff for a possible evacuation. Many homeowners also chose to leave their homes when water was reaching the top steps of the basements, broadcast news outlets reported.

On the northwest end of the metro area, the Des Plaines River in Cook County was expected to crest when it went over over 10 feet. Many people moved to Red Cross Shelters set up in the Des Plaines area.

The Chicago Tribune confirmed that more than 1,000 evacuations were made in the metro region with some families being rescued by boat. The scene was scarily reminiscent of those coming from Galveston and Houston, Texas.

Agencies’ Comments

Insurance Journal contacted the Insurance Services Office (ISO) and its Property Claim Services Unit (PCS) regarding the flooding and disaster insured loss information available for the Midwest.

“PCS is evaluating the extent of insured damage that the remnants of Ike caused as it moved away from the Gulf Coast and through the Midwest and into the lower Great Lakes region. Flooding and windy conditions caused additional damage to insured property, and PCS is gathering information about damage reported in these affected areas,” said Gary Kerney, assistant vice president of ISO’s Property Claim Services Unit. Kerney said more information would be available in coming weeks.

Region V of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) spokesperson Cat Langel said that “FEMA officials are in close contact with state counterparts in Illinois and Indiana, and FEMA has sent liaisons to state emergency operations centers in both Illinois and Indiana.”

Clean up and recovery will continue for many weeks, local news outlets said. In some areas up to 10 inches of rain fell in one 24-hour period, breaking the rainfall total record for Illinois.

Flood Facts

The Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Chicago released 30 billion gallons of storm water and sewage into Lake Michigan on September 14, bringing the two day total to 85-90 billion gallons, the Chicago Tribune reported.

Additional Flood Facts:

Loss payments totaled $523 million in 2007. In 2005 loss payments totaled $17.6 billion, the highest amount on record, including losses from hurricanes Katrina, Rita and Wilma.

In 2007 the average amount of flood coverage was $201,598 and the average premium was $505.

The average flood claim in 2007 was $24,579, down from $25,869 in 2006.

Source: Insurance Information Institute