Flooding in Illinois, March 1 to 18, 2018

Moderate flooding continued on the Ohio River from late February. At the Shawneetown river gage, the river crested at 52.10 feet on March 4. Flood stage there is 33 feet. This flood crest was within a couple of inches of the January, 2005 flood. Isolated evacuations of some lowland residents were conducted. The community of Old Shawneetown was threatened, resulting in sandbagging and levee patrols. Very little if any structural flooding was reported in Old Shawneetown. A tributary of the Ohio River, the Saline River, experienced major backwater flooding extending across Gallatin County to Saline County. Isolated homes were accessible only by boat in areas around Junction, Equality, and New Haven. Isolated barns and outbuildings were flooded in the Junction and Equality areas. The Junction post office was temporarily moved to Shawneetown. About 40 roads were closed in Gallatin County, including Illinois Route 1 south of Route 13.

Moderate flooding continued on the Ohio River from late February. At the Golconda river gage, the river crested at 52.66 feet on March 3. Flood stage is 40 feet. This crest was about one foot lower than the flood of March, 1997. Isolated evacuations of some lowland residents were conducted. In Pope County, a home on Lusk Creek near Golconda was standing in water. Rural Pope County roads were flooded around Brownfield and Hamletsburg.

Moderate flooding continued on the Ohio River from late February. This flood crest was about a foot lower than the March, 1997 flood. Isolated evacuations of some lowland residents were conducted. Cabins at a campground at Saline Landing were flooded, and Front Street was flooded in Elizabethtown. There was sandbagging around homes in Elizabethtown and Cave-In-Rock. Several mobile homes and trailers in Hardin County were pulled away from the water. At Rosiclare, Illinois Route 146 was closed leading into town, and water was up about 5 feet along the floodgates. The ferry connecting Cave-In-Rock with the state of Kentucky was shut down because of flooded roads on the Kentucky side.

Moderate flooding continued on the Ohio River from late February. At the Brookport river gage, the river crested at 52.8 feet on the 2nd. Flood stage there is 37 feet. This flood crest was less than a foot below the March, 1997 flood. Isolated evacuations of some lowland residents were conducted. In the city of Metropolis, several streets were closed, a few residences were evacuated, and a casino riverboat was closed for a week or more. The closure of the casino had a significant impact on the local economy. Flooding of the casino's parking lot and entrance prompted the closure. There was little property damage to the casino itself. Some riverside parks were flooded, including large parts of Fort Massac State Park.

Major flooding continued on the Ohio River from late February. At the Grand Chain river gage, the river crested on March 2 at 57.3 feet. This was the fifth highest stage on record, and it was exactly one-half foot below the flood crest of March, 1997. Flood stage is 42 feet. Numerous county roads were closed near the river. Widespread flooding of low-lying farmland occurred. Most of the farmland was still unplanted.

Major flooding continued on the Ohio River from late February. At the Cairo river gage, the river crested at 54.8 feet on March 3. This was the 10th highest crest on record at Cairo, and it was 1.3 feet below the flood crest of January, 2016. Flood stage there is 40 feet. The bridge connecting Cairo with Wickliffe, KY was closed due to floodwater over the bridge approach on the Kentucky side. The bridge, which carries U.S. Highway 51/60/62 over the Ohio River, was closed for about one week. Most of the flood gates were installed at Cairo. Areas not protected by the levee and floodwall system were inundated. Since the crop season was not underway, agricultural losses were quite small.

Moderate flooding continued on the Wabash River from late February. At the Mount Carmel river gage, the river crested at 29.68 feet on the 3rd of March. Flood stage is 19 feet. This flood crest was about one foot lower then the flood of May, 2017. Extensive flooding of low-lying agricultural land occurred. Some residents along one Mt. Carmel street and another street in the Keensburg area were forced to relocate. Numerous local roads were flooded, some by several feet of water. These included County Road 1280 E and three township roads south of Illinois 1 near Keensburg.

Moderate flooding continued along the Wabash River from late February. At the New Harmony, IN river gage, the river crested at 21.21 feet on March 4th. Flood stage there is 15 feet. This crest was about one-half foot lower than the flood of May, 2017. The river was three miles wide at Interstate 64. Low farmland was flooded almost to the eastern edge of Phillipstown. Extensive flooding of agricultural land occurred. The land was mostly unplanted, so crop damage was slight. A large number of rural county roads were impacted.

Moderate flooding continued on the Little Wabash River from late February. At the Carmi river gage, the river crested at 33.45 feet on March 3. Flood stage is 27 feet. This crest was about a foot lower than the flood of June, 2015. Low-lying areas near Routes 1 and 14 in Carmi began to flood. Some county roads were inundated. Considerable flooding of low farmland occurred, but the land was mostly unplanted. Boat traffic was prohibited from the Highway 141 bridge to the confluence with the Wabash River.