Heavy rains over the last several days have prompted flood warnings all over the region.The National Weather Service has issued a Flash Flood Warning for an area mainly along and west of Interstate 57 in southern Illinois, as well as much of southeast Missouri.
Rain totals had already topped four inches by early Monday, and forecasters expect another one to two inches to fall.
The Jackson County Emergency Management Agency expected to meet with the Army Corps of Engineers and local levee boards Monday, to discuss plans for a rising Mississippi River. EMA Coordinator Derek Misener says the river is expected to crest at 49.9 feet in Chester later this week, higher than the record 49.7 feet set in the Great Flood of 1993.
Union County's Sheriff and Emergency Management teams began urging residents Monday morning to closely monitor conditions, and seek shelter away from low-lying areas. Leaders also recommended residents consider evacuating to higher ground before rising waters made that too difficult.
Meanwhile three adults and two children died in Marion County, when their car was swept away near Patoka.
