Southern Illinois recently hit with major flooding
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By RHIANNON BRANCH
FarmWeek
Major flash flooding led to road closures, forced the evacuation of residential areas and drowned field crops on July 16 in parts of southern Illinois.
“I’m 63 years old and this is the highest amount of rain I’ve ever seen in the shortest period of time, especially in July,” Washington County Farm Bureau President Gerald Kuberski told FarmWeek.
He farms near Du Bois, where ground was already plenty saturated from more than 4 inches of rain the week before.
“Today (July 16) I’m not 100% sure how much rain we have because my gauge went over the top at 5 inches and I never got a chance to get out there to empty it,” he said.
So far, he said his top ground still looks good, but his bottom ground did not fare as well.
“The corn was about head-high, and the water is over the top of the corn and now you can’t see any of it,” Kuberski said. “So, I pretty much assume that’s going to be a loss.”
In nearby Nashville, excessive rain caused the overtopping of a reservoir dam, which forced evacuations in residential areas.
Major roads leading into Nashville were impassable, including Interstate 64, which was closed between Okawville and Richview. The Washington County Farm Bureau parking lot was used as a staging area for emergency vehicles and first responders.
Nashville farmer Chris Heggemeier told FarmWeek not much farmland was impacted by the dam overtopping, but local farmers have flash flood damage.
He reported up to 7 inches of rain in some fields with soybean plants completely submerged.
FarmWeek CropWatcher Brent Corners farms near Centralia in Jefferson County and reported 5.5 inches by 10:30 a.m. July 16.
“Anywhere that has a small creek crossing underneath is flooded over the road,” he said. “It is as deep as I’ve ever seen it.”
He said there will be a lot to monitor in fields in the coming days.
“There will be total losses in some bottom grounds, definitely,” Corners said. “And I’d say there will be yield impacts on other fields because of mud and debris washing up on the plants.”
And flash flooding is still possible across the region.
Illinois Farm Bureau District 16 Director Paul Beisiegel told the RFD Radio Network rain started around 5:30 that morning at his home in St. Clair County.
“At 12:30 I dumped my rain gauge out at 6 inches,” he said. “There is more red on the radar coming from the St. Louis area heading into that southeasterly area (as of July 16).”
DTN Ag Meteorologist Teresa Wells told the RFD Radio Network that she expects August to remain active with precipitation favored to be above normal.
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■ This story was distributed through a cooperative project between Illinois Farm Bureau and the Illinois Press Association. For more food and farming news, visit FarmWeekNow.com.
