Gov. Blagojevich declares Douglas, Lake counties state disaster areas for flooding and severe storms

SPRINGFIELD - Gov. Rod R. Blagojevich today added Douglas and Lake counties to a state disaster declaration to help those areas respond to and recover from recent severe storms and the threat of flooding.  Since Wednesday, the Governor has declared 15 counties state disaster areas.  Also on Saturday, the Illinois Emergency Management Agency (IEMA) dispatched personnel and a Unified Area Command vehicle to Quincy for coordinating response efforts along a nearly 300-mile stretch of the Mississippi River from the Quad Cities area through Calhoun County.

 

"As this flooding situation continues to develop, we are mobilizing state resources and personnel to help affected communities battle floodwaters that threaten homes and critical infrastructure," said Gov. Blagojevich. "The State Emergency Operations Center in Springfield will be operating throughout the weekend to ensure communities get the help they need during this critical time."

 

The Governor's disaster declaration will allow the state to expedite assistance needed to help Douglas County recover from recent flash flooding and Lake County battle flooding anticipated along the Fox River.  The state disaster declaration makes available a wide variety of state resources that can help affected communities respond to and recover from storms or flooding. 

 

The State of Illinois has personnel and assets that can be mobilized to help local government officials with disaster recovery, including such things as sandbags, inmate crews to assist with filling sandbags, boats for evacuations and security patrols, road barricades, pumps, trucks and a variety of heavy equipment.

 

On Friday, Gov. Blagojevich surveyed rising waters in Quincy as well as flooded areas in southeastern Illinois and met with local officials and emergency responders.  In addition to the counties declared state disaster areas today, the Governor has already declared 13 other counties disaster areas, including Adams, Calhoun, Hancock, Henderson, Mercer, Pike and Rock Island counties along the Mississippi River and Clark, Coles, Crawford, Cumberland, Jasper and Lawrence counties in southeastern Illinois.