Community Corner

UPDATED: City Closes Sections of Roads Due to Flash Flooding

Oak Forest 5th Ward Alderman Dan Ensing and our Facebook fans are keeping Patch updated on the areas with heavy flooding in Oak Forest. Is your neighborhood one of them? Tell Patch.

UPDATED: 1:15 p.m.

Public works is reporting the following street closures, as of 1:15 p.m. Thursday:

  • Kilpatrick north of 155th Street
  • 155th Street at Kilpatrick
  • Lavergne between 153rd and 152nd streets
  • Intersection of Forest and 160th Street

After a night of torrential rainfall Wednesday, many Oak Forest residents find themselves bailing basements out of water, some even stranded as their streets are too flooded to travel.

Find out what's happening in Oak Forestwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Oak Forest Public Works crews are on the job throughout Oak Forest, but the water's just coming too fast, said Human Resources Director Scott Burkhardt.

Public Works reports that:

Find out what's happening in Oak Forestwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

  • Since 3 a.m., 4.6 inches of rain fell in Oak Forest
  • All Oak Forest creeks are above their bounds
  • 15 sections of various streets are closed at this time
  • Several homes are experiencing flooding

Workers are out trying to unclog sewers and bail out homes that have flooded, Burkhardt said.

Burkhardt said streets "everywhere" in Oak Forest are flooded, and water is gushing into residents' homes.

"Everyone's out on the street, trying to get to the places that are the worst," Burkhardt said. "It's all over the city. We're just hoping that the rain will slow."

Patch is currently seeking more information on specific streets with closures. Please check back for updates.

What Residents Are Saying

We turned to our Facebook page for feedback on flooding. Here's what our fans had to say, the morning after the storm.

  • Dan Ensing ‎151st & Mission, Menard and Massasoit between Fern and Grange.
  • Kristy-Lyn Walls-Spellman: ‎159th and Central is terrible! Also 167th between Central and Cicero is bad!
  • Kim Golk: Natalie Creek is filling fast!
  • Joan Hoye Bravo: ‎151st and Long, Albert and Central, 147th & Laramie. Water was shooting up like a fountain out of the sewer grates at 152nd & Central. I gave up trying to get to I-57 to go to work!
  • Lynn Connolly Cervantes: El Morro Lane from Boca Rio to Condado & that whole area is completely flooded. It doesn't look deep, but trust me, it is.
  • Chuck Toland: I was all over Natalie Estates and Victoria and Central Ave., and I was up to my thighs removing debris in the inlets. When the water goes down, people should go and make sure their inlets are clear.
  • Judy Wortel-Ciufia: ‎155th St in front of St Damian, my street 155th to 157th and Lorel


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