Many people are dealing with flooding in the Quad Cities area — while keeping an eye on ice jams that could make it worse.
Parts of Whiteside County are still dealing with major flooding along the Rock River.
Meanwhile, officials are monitoring ice jams that could break at any moment.
That could cause even higher flood levels in communities along its shores.
“Some old timers I’ve talked to they said it’s probably one of the worst ones,” Lt. John Booker said. “Back in ’74 they said it was as bad, but for myself and my 20 years, this is probably one of the worst ones I’ve seen.”
Booker says the worst part of flooding is the unpredictable nature, besides not knowing when that ice jam could break.
He’s gotten reports of areas that have never been flooded that are now taking on water.
The Rock River near Joslin was within a foot of the record before starting to recede, hitting 18.31 feet Friday afternoon. The record sits at 19.24 feet, reached in June 2002.
Meanwhile, the Rock River crossed 15 feet around 3 p.m. Friday in Moline on its way to an expected crest of 15.6 feet on Saturday. That also would be within a foot of the record of 16.53 feet, set in April 2013.
“There are currently two sections of the river between Erie and Prophetstown experiencing ice jams,” said Sgt. Seth Janssen, ESDA Coordinator for the Whiteside County Sheriff’s Office. “The first jam extends from approximately 1 mile downstream from the Illinois Route 78 bridge to Thunder Road. The second jam extends from approximately Smit Road to about two miles upstream from the Erie Road bridge. This equates to roughly 6 miles of jammed up ice still to make it down the river. … Any sudden changes in the movement of that ice could result in rapid fluctuations in the river levels in the near future.”
Keep an eye on the water at OurQuadCities.com/riverlevels.
Here’s an aerial look at Rock River ice jams upstream from Erie and downstream from Illinois 78. Photos courtesy of Illinois State Police Air Operations via Sergeant Seth Janssen, ESDA Coordinator at the Whiteside County Sheriff’s Office. #qcweather pic.twitter.com/kUlsLvA9yq— Local 4 WHBF (@Local4NewsWHBF) February 23, 2018
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