Torrential rains this weekend flooded roadways and basements around Chicago, with some neighborhoods seeing up to 5 inches of rain, NBC News reported. Water reached up to car bumpers around the city’s Lincoln Square neighborhood, and part of the Eisenhower Expressway had to shut down.
Several people were rescued from their cars that had gotten stuck in floodwaters, and some households reported around 2 to 3 feet of water in basements across several neighborhoods, Block Club Chicago reported. The flooding also caused water pipes to burst, creating a geyser onto the streets.
“Multiple viaducts across the north side of #Chicago have had severe flooding causing stranded vehicles,” the National Weather Service tweeted yesterday, asking that people not drive on flooded roads. Several areas throughout the city were under flood and flash flood warnings throughout the weekend. The rain also disrupted sporting events: The Chicago Bears played against the San Francisco 49ers on a semi-flooded Soldier Field, as the water turned the new turf into a slip and slide.
The rain is expected to continue Monday, but Tuesday should bring welcome sunny weather, NBC Chicago reports.
Cities and villages around the world are struggling with how to handle the increased frequency of heavy rainfall events. And as the climate warms, we’re going to see more flooding and heavy rain that most housing and infrastructure are not built to withstand. This July, rainfall shut down parts of the New York City subway system and flooded highways. And in August, at least 11 people in Seoul, South Korea died after record-breaking floods turned below-ground apartments into death traps, a tragedy foreshadowed in the Oscar-winning 2019 film Parasite.
Meanwhile, in Pakistan, a “monsoon on steroids” has caused mass disaster in the country, which is accustomed to annual floods but not to this extreme degree.