August 12th, 2021 | 1 in 1,000 Year Flood in Gibson City, Illinois

Thunderstorms erupted over the town of Gibson City (about 45 miles northwest of Champaign-Urbana) before sunrise the morning of August 12th and did not relent until the afternoon hours. Nearly 10 inches of rain was dumped on the small town over a 6-9 hour period. This was declared a 1 in 1,000 year flood event, meaning a rain event of this caliber should occur once every one thousand years. Gibson City is not at the intersection of rivers/streams/lakes or other bodies of water that create frequent, easy flood situations. This was purely rain falling so fast the soil could not keep up.