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Counties added to Illinois disaster list

River flooding prompted Illinois Governor Bruce Rauner to add 11 more counties to the state disaster declaration. Those are in addition to the dozen counties declared last week.  Heavy rain caused several rivers and waterways to surge to record or near-record levels.  A disaster declaration makes state resources available such as sandbags, sand, pumps, trucks, inmate crews and other assistance to ensure public safety.

The State Emergency Operations Center (SEOC) in Springfield was activated Dec. 28 to coordinate the state’s flood response.

Last week, Governor Rauner declared Alexander, Calhoun, Christian, Clinton, Douglas, Jackson, Jersey, Madison, Monroe, Morgan, Randolph and St. Clair counties state disaster areas.  The counties added Tuesday include Cass, Cumberland, Iroquois, Lawrence, Marion, Menard, Moultrie, Pike, Richland, Sangamon and Vermilion.  Tuesday’s announcement brings the total number of declared counties to 23.