KANE COUNTY ON FLOOD ALERT

With more rain predicted, the slowly rising Fox River put residents of Kane County on floodwatch Tuesday night, bracing for the same problems that have caused parts of the Chicago area to be declared disaster areas.

Flooding along the surging Des Plaines River in Lake County and northern Cook County is so severe that Gov. James Thompson has declared both areas, as well as parts of McHenry County, state disaster areas.

On Monday Thompson declared Lake County a disaster area, and on Tuesday, after visiting several suburbs by boat, he extended the designation to parts of Cook County.

As high water from the Des Plaines River moved south, some residents living near the river in communities such as Schiller Park and River Grove began evacuating. Streets were flooding as far south as Maywood.

”I was born and raised here and this is the worst I`ve ever seen it,”

said River Grove Mayor Thomas Tarpey. He said the water is 5 feet deep in some areas.

The Fox River was reported to be nearly a foot over flood stage at Algonquin, in southern McHenry County, and some streets were awash in such Kane County communities as Carpentersville, East and West Dundee and South Elgin. Water was reported flowing in yards and open areas between Elgin and St. Charles.

William Diamond, director of the Kane County Emergency Services Disaster Agency, said he fears the Fox River could rise enough to spill over the dam at Algonquin and cause major flooding. Diamond`s staff was distributing sandbags in threatened areas.

The most encouraging news for those living near the Fox River in Kane County was a weather forecast from the Central Weather Service calling for little additional rain before late Wednesday afternoon. This could allow enough time for the river to drop.

The forecast also offered hope to residents along the more southern reaches of the Des Plaines River who have not been afflicted with flooding as serious as those living further north along the river.

But the National Weather Service, which lifted its flash-flood warning Tuesday, cautioned that the rain might resume as early as Wednesday morning.

And Central Weather Service forecasters warned that when the rain does resume, it could begin in the southern part of the Chicago area and work its way north toward flood-soaked Lake County. They also predicted that the rain would continue and possibly become heavy on Thursday.

Parts of the Chicago area have been afflicted by almost daily rains since Sept 10. Communities in Lake County have been deluged by up to 12 inches of rain, which not only has caused rivers and creeks to spill over their banks but has created vast pools in some low-lying areas.

September rainfall in the city itself, which has not been among the hardest-hit areas, measured 7.23 inches by 7 p.m. Tuesday at O`Hare International Airport, the official measuring station. Normal for the month is 3.35 inches, though the record is the 14.17 inches of 1961.

There has been so much rain, not only in the Chicago area but in Wisconsin and Michigan, that Lake Michigan has reached its all-time highest level, 581.48 feet above sea level, according to the water resources division of the Illinois Department of Transportation.

Neil Fulton, chief of the resource management bureau of the water resources division, said that before the rains came the lake level had been dropping after reaching a high of 581.2 feet above sea level in June.

The Metropolitan Sanitary District said that the Chicago River is only a few inches higher than normal in the downtown area, but its North branch is about 2 feet higher than normal.

MSD officials said that there is no danger of major flooding along any part of the river.

Nicholas Melas, MSD president, said Tuesday that flood-control projects such as Deep Tunnel are reducing the flood danger in many parts of Cook County.

In Chicago and most of its older bordering suburbs, sewer systems rebuilt over the last 20 years working in conjunction with the Deep Tunnel have so far been able to accommodate the heavy rainfall, Melas said.

Rising water levels on the Fox River and the Chain-O-Lakes in McHenry County were the reasons that Thompson included parts of that county in the disaster area designation.

Fox Lake, in Lake County, the largest of the Chain-O-Lakes, has risen nearly 4 feet since Friday, according to those living nearby. The north branch of the Fox River flows through Fox Lake, swings west into McHenry County and then south into Kane County.

Kane County officials said they feared that the Fox River would spill over the McHenry lock and dam and the Algonquin dam, both in McHenry County.

Thompson`s disaster designation for Cook County included parts of Elk Grove, Maine, Northfield and Wheeling Townships.

An estimated 1,000 residents in such northern suburbs as Mt. Prospect, Prospect Heights and Des Plaines had been forced to leave their homes. In addition, more than 1,000 tons of sand had been used by residents and village workers seeking to hold back the flood.

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Canoes were the most popular means of transportation in much of the area. They were being used for checking on neighbors and by those who waited just a little too long before deciding to leave their homes. More than one canoe was seen gliding down a street-turned-canal filled with a family, their suitcases and a telvision set.

But by Tuesday night, the Des Plaines River flood zone had moved well south of the disaster area designated by the governor. In Schiller Park about 4 1/2 feet of floodwater had spilled over River Road beween Irving Park Road and Seymour Avenue.

Three six-unit apartment buildings were evacuated and a shelter for residents was opened in the Schiller Park Community Center, 2501 N. 25th Ave. Though some residents along River Road in River Grove were leaving, others defiantly decided to remain.

”I`ll stay until water comes out the front door,” said Frank Faruggia, 33, a River Grove police officer who was using three pumps at his home in the 2500 block of River Road.

”I sent my children (ages 2 and 7 months) over to their grandmother`s. My wife is helping me, but eventually I`ll send her, too.”

A neighbor, Carmen Fiandalo, 35, said she had packed suitcases for herself, her husband and their 6-year-old daughter, but added, ”We`re going to try to stick it out for as long as we can.”

In Lake County, still the hardest hit in the Chicago area, officials warned that a determination to stay could be dangerous.

”If they insist on staying in their homes, they are doing it at their own risk,” said Capt. Francis Winans, coordinator of the Lake County office of Emergency Services. ”The state and county governments cannot be responsible.”

The harest-hit area is around Gurnee, a community of about 9,000. About 1 square mile of the 7.9-square-mile town is under water. The community`s municipal building is in the flood zone and police and fire departments are among those who had to evacuate.

The police department is working out of temporary quarters in Six Flags Great America, the giant amusement park, which is on higher ground. The fire department is working out of a church, also on higher ground.

Lake County officials, who last week predicted that the Des Plaines River would reach its peak Tuesday, conceded that they don`t know when that might occur. They said continued rain made the earlier forecast inaccurate.