Flash Flooding in Illinois, May 19 to 20, 1998

A series of thunderstorms moved across extreme southeastern Champaign, southern Vermilion, and northern Edgar counties over a three hour period. The storms dumped between 2.5 and 5 inches of rain during that time. This caused numerous roads in the area to be flooded. Also, between 25 to 30 basements in Chrisman were flooded causing extensive damage. In Broadlands, the school had a couple of inches of water in the locker room and one of its storage buildings had a foot of water in it. A grocery store and two other homes in town sustained water damage, as well as, the local grain elevator. A couple of motors on the drying equipment for the elevator were destroyed. A number of cars had water in them from either being driven into flooded roadways or high water flowed past where they were parked. The water treatment plant in Georgetown was threatened by flood waters as the Little Vermilion River rose quickly. Area personnel sandbagged throughout the night to protect the plant. No structural damage occurred in Vermilion County and damage in Champaign County was estimated around $80,000. No damage estimate was available for Edgar County. No injuries were reported.