Flooding in The Windy City, September 2008

On September 12 -14, Chicago was hit with the worst rainfall that it had seen in over 130 years. It all started with a series of weather warnings that foreshadowed the impending storms and floods. In the days leading up to the disaster, alerts were sent out through every news outlet, urging residents to prepare for heavy rainfall. While it's not uncommon for Chicago to experience occasional downpours, this time, the threat was different. Meteorologists predicted that a mix of factors, including the remains of Hurricane Ike, would result in an extraordinary amount of rainfall.

On September 12, I woke up to the sound of rain pounding against my window. The downpour was constant, with no sign of letting up. Streets quickly turned into rivers, and basements everywhere were flooded. As the days passed, the rain grew stronger, setting records for the most extended period of precipitation in the city's history. People were forced to evacuate their homes, and many found shelter in temporary relief centers set up by local authorities.

I remember the night of September 14th as the worst of the rainfall. I can vividly recall the thunder and lightning, which were the most intense I had ever experienced. While storms never really bothered me as a kid, at that moment, the thunder felt as though it was blasting directly into my ear from only a couple of inches away. Paired with the fact that each thunder blast shook our house like a mini earthquake, I was pretty scared and stayed up with my parents for a long while before falling asleep that night.

The following morning and for a couple of days after that, my parents didn't allow my siblings or me to go outside. We had to watch the other kids from the neighborhood play on the street, which had turned into a waterway. I can remember watching my friend from across the street bring out a surfboard and skateboard to ride the street rivers from my front door but not being able to join them. Eventually, I was allowed to go outside a couple days later, but by that point, most of the water had receded, and it wasn't much fun.

In total, the rainfall lasted for over 51 hours and ranged from 2.39 to 10.51 inches after the three days. The flooding caused over $1 million in damages, and nine counties in northeastern Illinois (16 counties throughout the state) were declared federal disaster areas. There were two casualties reported.

References:

Chicago Tribune. (2008, September 15). What a mess. https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-xpm-2008-09-15-0809150640-story.html

Fazio, D. J., Sharpe, J. B., & Geological Survey. (2012). Flood of September 13-16, 2008 in Northeastern Illinois. U.S. Department of the Interior, U.S. Geological Survey.