The Illinois River is slowly falling in Peoria after cresting nearly 9 feet above flood stage Sunday. The National Weather Service predicts the Peoria measurement will drop below 26 feet early Wednesday. Flood stage is 18 feet.
Major flooding is occurring along the Illinois River near Havana and southwest toward the Mississippi River confluence. A record crest above 27 feet is predicted for Valley City in Pike County.
The swollen Mississippi and Missouri rivers are closing hundreds of roads and inundating homes and businesses.
Locks and dams upstream of St. Louis are shut down as the Mississippi River crests at its second-highest level on record in some areas, straining agriculture levees. Floodgates also have been closed in St. Louis in advance of the river cresting there Thursday.
The high water already is causing problems. The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports that several hotels that were crowded with visitors for the Stanley Cup Final and Cardinals-Cubs baseball games were left without hot water Sunday after too much water overwhelmed a pump station.
