Rain and snow in forecast for towns hit by Midwest flooding
(CBS News) SPRING BAY, Ill. -- On a good day, Spring Bay, Ill., has a great view of the Illinois River, but on a bad day, it's in the river. So this is a very bad day for Brad Rohman.
We floated down Lake Street, past his restaurant.
"This is the only restaurant in town," he says. "And it's actually the last business left in this town."
It's a total loss, and 15 employees are out of work. Rohman says breaking the news to them was "real hard."
Parts of Illinois had 10 inches of rain in 10 days. A school bus virtually surfed its route near Chicago, and the water came up fast -- rising 13 feet in five days in Spring Bay, where Joe Greer watched from his deck.
Mississippi cresting but Midwest flooding still a concern
Dangerous floodwaters surge in Midwest towns
Ind. man dies as car is swept away by floodwaters
"We didn't find out it was going to crest this high -- or was expected to crest this high -- until Thursday at 5 p.m.," Greer says.
Flood water tore barges from the moorings at Marseille, Ill., Monday morning and bunched them like twigs against a dam.
To the west, a 100-mile stretch of the Mississippi River is 10 to 12 feet above flood stage. At Clarksville, Mo., it went over the levees, submerging homes and recently drought-stricken farmland.
Back in Spring Bay, a town of 500, 45 homes are under water.
"I lost it a couple of times Saturday night and had a hard time," Rohman says. "It's just heartbreaking to look at it."
The Illinois River hasn't been this high in 100 years, but it could rise a foot more. Another inch to an inch-and-a-half of rain is in the forecast.
