Chain of Lakes, IL Flooding

[Eric Popper]

I flew over the Chain today to view the flooding. It's supposed to crest today, but there was more rain overnight up north that will slow that down. Apparently, it's worse than a few years ago. I'm sure the damage will be measured in billions...

Our marina is totally flooded and you can't even see the docks at most places.

 

[John McLaughlin]

Thank you for the photos. We will keep you in our prayers that you all stay safe.

 

[Tonkatoy]

Wow, that's devasting.

 

[Eric Popper]

I don't live in the flooded area and my boat stays out of the water so we are OK. The pictures are just a small portion of the damage and I bet it will be in the billions....

Eric

 

[Eric Popper]

More pictures...

 

[Eric Popper]

And a few more for those of you who like Freddy's bar and Blarney Island. Both are OK, but the outdoor downstairs part of Freddy's is wet....

 

[Devildog]

Thanks for sending the photos. My entire marina in Antioch has waist deep water. All of the buildings and gas pumps are flooded and some of the piers are destroyed. My pier is underwater and caused the front line to slip off the post due to the water rising, but I was able to wade out and resecure the line. I'm just thankful that I was able to get to the boat. The stern line remained attached to the pier, otherwise, my boat would be floating down the lake. I definitely dodged a bullet. So many homes and business are flooded. The recovery is going to be long and painful for many in Northern IL. This was definitely the 100 year flood.

 

[NickF]

I was up there today as my boat is docked on the chain (floating pier). I couldn't believe how bad it really is, my cousin has 10 pumps going to try and keep his house dry and I brought him another three, as they are expecting more rain this week.

 

[Eric Popper]

Here are a few more up close on the Fox River. The fish is real and was washed up in my friends yard. It's probably one of those carp from Freddy's that eats french fries, lemon rinds, and shrimp tails all day by the dock...

 

[props2you]

@Eric Popper Great Shots, thanks for sharing. Pretty disturbing to actually see all the destruction. That pillow looks awfully fishy, maybe it's the seam that gives it away! LOL!

 

[buckbuck]

One of the guys at work told me he watched boats float down the river this weekend. He said it is all coming at me...boats, piers, trees, flooded septics, everything.

 

[Eric Popper]

When I flew over we saw at least one drifting boat. One was out at the Petite Lake sand bar with people on it even though the lake system is closed?

 

[Devildog]

Opportunists they will come......

After taking care of my boat issues from the floods last weekend, I went out again yesterday just to check on things because we received some additional rain this week. Totally expected everything to be fine, right? Ha.....

From a distance, I noticed that my bow cover was not fully secure. A few of the snaps were undone. I remember securing that cover tight last weekend and this weeks weather was not bad enough to undo snaps.

So I bought some chest waders (marina is still flooded with waist deep nasty water), walked out to the boat and sure as *$%#, some jackasses broke into my boat and several other boats in the marina. They did not steal any of my equipment or other valuables as far as I could tell. They took my boat insurance card, boat registration card, a pair of sunglasses and few other small items. Left the inside trashed. Stuff thrown all over. The worst part is they also entered the boat from the stern as well, so my back cover was not secure either. The inside was drenched with water due to the heavy rains on Wed and Thu. My bilge ran for a solid 5-8 minutes.

The idiots did leave some things behind in the boat. A Hummer baseball hat and an LCD light bar. I'm going to file a report with the police and if any other boats lost any valuables, then maybe this evidence will be helpful.

The one thing that I learned is in the future, I'll keep all of my boat paperwork in the watertight bag that I take back to the house every time. Not sure what you guys do, but just something to keep in mind for the future.

 

[John McLaughlin]

I just don't understand what is to be gained from breaking into boats in the midst of disaster like that. When I was young I can remember headlines in the local newspaper that looters would be shot on sight. I sometimes think we should go back to that policy.

That said I would check with your credit card and insurance companies just to be sure that they are not stealing your identity or using that information for other nefarious reasons.