Governor J.B. Pritzker has issued a new state disaster proclamation for all 36 counties currently undergoing flood response or recovery activities in Illinois. This includes Jackson, Union, Alexander and Randolph Counties.
While some portions of the state have begun recovery operations, there are still several river communities in an active flood fight with river levels in major flood stage.
Recently, the Governor activated an additional 80 National Guardsmen to bolster flood-fighting efforts in northern Alexander County, along the Mississippi River communities of East Cape Girardeau and McClure.
Southeast Missouri State University is playing a role in the flood fight.
More than 160 Illinois National Guard troops are being housed in Vandiver Hall on the Cape Girardeau campus while they work in southern Illinois to help with sandbagging efforts to protect communities from devastating flooding.
Eight Southeast Missouri State employees who normally commute to Cape Girardeau from Illinois also are staying in Vandiver Hall following the closure of Route 3 near McClure and HIghway 146 in Alexander County.
Deployed State resources to date:
- More than 5 million sandbags deployed
- 38,000 tons of rock distributed
- 1.2 million tons of sand distributed
- More than 3,300 rolls of plastic distributed
- More than 1.1 million sandbags filled by IDOC
- 39 pumps deployed by IDOT
- 26 pumps deployed by U.S. Army Corp of Engineers
- 450 linear feet of HESCO barriers installed
- 1,750 feet of Aquadam deployed
