Mississippi River Flooding in Illinois

The Mississippi River overflows its banks in the small town of Elsah. Heavy rains in December pushed rivers in Illinois and Missouri over the flood stage causing governors and President Obama to declare the area a disaster zone. Some 25 people died, mostly from driving vehicles into floodwater.

Unique identifier: GP0STPJSX

Type: Image

Shoot date: 01/01/2016

Locations: Elsah (Illinois), Illinois, Mississippi River, North America, United States of America

Credit line: © Mannie Garcia / Greenpeace

Ranking: ★★★★ (E)

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Mississippi River Flooding

The Mississippi River and most other waterways in Missouri and Illinois flooded after 10 to 14 inches (25 to 35 centimeters) of rain fell over a wide swath of the two midwestern states in the last days of 2015. Volunteers in Alton on the east bank of the Mississippi River built a 1,000-foot (600-meter) 4-7 foot (1.2-2.1 meter) high flood wall in 24 hours which protected downtown businesses from flooding. The water crested below the devastating flood levels of 1993 but wintertime flooding is relatively rare in the region where moisture typically falls as snow in winter.

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