Mar 1, 1997
Around 6 inches of rain in 24 hours caused extensive flooding of streams and roads. A state of emergency was declared by the Illinois governor, which was later upgraded to a federal disaster area. Two county roads were closed in Massac County. One was closed by a bridge washout, and water rushing across the other road created a 15-foot wide gap. So many roads were damaged that the county highway department ran out of barricades.
Source: NOAA National Weather Service Storm Events Database (event 5594920). Narrative written by NWS staff at the time of the event.
This event is one of many recorded floods in Massac County. See the full FEMA flood zone map, NFIP claim totals, and disaster history for the area.