Rain brings more flooding to Chicago area

CHICAGO (WLS) -- From the city to the suburbs and northwest Indiana, more rain means more flooding after a quick downpour late Saturday afternoon added to the problems caused by all that rain that fell Friday, and the day before.

There were spots Saturday on the Edens Expressway that suffered some closures, both inbound and outbound, which had to be briefly shut down because of high-standing water. There was also high water on the Eisenhower at Harlem once again, but no closures were necessary.

Further south in Indiana, however, is where most of the flooding problems presented themselves.

Torrential rains once again cause havoc across the city and suburbs. Hardest hit this time however, appears to have been northwest Indiana. Up to five inches of rain fell in some locations.

In Shererville, just off of Highway 41, a strip mall's parking lot was completely flooded. The Ashley Furniture Store there put up sandbags to try and stave off the rising water. Flooding also prompted the closing of Route 30 for most of the afternoon.

Meanwhile, in Dyer, Indiana, a large hole opened up in the backyard of a family's home in Briar Ridge after a 120-foot drain pipe failed. As of Sunday morning, the hole had continued to grow, swallowing four trees in the yard, owner Leititia Casto said.

In Chicago, viaducts once again flooded. One at 63rd and State appears to have gotten some of the worst of it. Meanwhile, in Bucktown, up to six homes on the 1600 block of North Winchester have been dealing with flooded basements since Thursday's rain storms. The flooding appears to have been initially caused by problems with the sewers on the block, but has been compounded by the heavy rainstorms of the last few days.

"Every single one of these houses has a couple of feet of water in the basement and it just seems like it's not going down," said Bucktown resident Alex Laker. "It's also recycling, because you can see the sump pumps working, the water is sitting on the street, and it keeps coming back into the basement."

Residents dealing with the damage are frustrated by the city's response. They say only Saturday afternoon did the Department of Water Management come to check things out.

"There's water heater damage so right now there's no hot water in the homes," Bucktown resident Maribel Cabrera said. "We have children in the homes, also washers, dryers, everything in the basement it's a total loss now."

Late Saturday the Department of Water Management did return to the Bucktown neighborhood, addressed the issues and the water appears to be receding.