Northwestern students woke up to flooded buildings and streets this morning after more than 4 inches of rain soaked Evanston overnight.
The heavy precipitation has closed the Sports Pavilion and Aquatics Center, as well as canceled lunch and dinner at the dining hall inside Willard Residential College. Students should also expect 45-minute delays on the Intercampus Shuttle route.
City crews have been working since 6 a.m. to address more than 80 complaints of basement flooding, utility director Dave Stoneback said on a conference call.
The city has also received more than 50 complaints about street and alley flooding, which Stoneback said are a lower priority.
Residents have been reporting flooding through the city’s 311 system, which has already taken twice as many calls than it usually takes in a day, citizen engagement manager Erika Storlie said on the conference call.
The brunt of the storm, however, is over. The city anticipates up to another half inch by tonight, but the next wave will be more scattered and sporadic than this morning’s rainfall, said Jim Maiworm, streets and sanitation superintendent.
— Manuel Rapada
