About a dozen homes in the small community of London Mills were evacuated last night due to flooding of the Spoon River. That’s according to multiple media outlets. The town of 500 received more than six inches of rain from Wednesday to Thursday. That caused the river to rise to over the flood stage of 15 feet. The river is expected to crest at near 30 feet today. Volunteers spent all day Thursday sandbagging to protect the community, but the levee was breached last night.
Homes in the town of Roanoke were also evacuated Wednesday night.
Governor Pat Quinn today declared 38 counties disaster areas due to flooding. Peoria, Tazewell and Woodford Counties are part of that list. The governor plans to visit Edwards to survey damage in the area this afternoon.