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Geology News
Illinois Current Events

A YMCA in Illinois sustained over $350,000 in damages from mine subsidence and then was told their insurance does not cover the damage. Now the Y will sue the insurance companies.

Related: What Homeowners Insurance Does Not Cover.

The Benld Elementary School in Benld, Illinois has been damaged by mine subsidence. An article on the Boston.com website tells several stories about mine subsidence in Illinois, Kentucky, Pennsylvania states.

The Illinois Geological Survey has a publication titled “Mine Subsidence in Illinois: Facts for Homeowners”. This is a useful and easy-to-understand publication that features: underground mining methods, mine maps, types of subsidence, effects of subsidence and other topics for the homeowner.

In most states mine subsidence insurance is not a hazard covered by the typical homeowners insurance policy. In Illinois, coverage is automatically added to policies in counties where 1% or more of the land has been undermined.

Stormwater runoff and sewage contaminate many US beaches. A study done by the Natural Resources Defense Council sampled, tested and rated 200 of the most popular beaches in the United States – both ocean and freshwater beaches were included in the study. Some of them had consistently high water quality and some had consistently low. You can view the report and a listing of the beaches on their website.

Sinkholes formed by solution in the floor of the United States’ Great Lakes host unusual ecosystems different from other parts of the lake just a short distance away. The sinkholes are often locations where water that has been underground for millions of years discharges with extreme amounts of dissolved metals.

The U.S. Global Change Research Program released a report that explains how climate change might impact Ohio, Missouri, Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota and Wisconsin. More heavy downpours, higher evaporation, higher temperatures, insect problems, invasive species problems and the impact on human health are a few of the featured problems.

Raven Maps are the most beautiful state wall maps that I have ever seen. They show the elevation and relief of a complete state through a skillful use of vibrant colors and topographic shading. Maps are available for individual states, the Conterminous United States, North America, Mexico and the world.

Learn about the geology of your favorite state as seen along the highway. This series of books by Mountain Press are filled with maps, photos, park locations and detailed descriptions. Get one before your next trip.

The-Vug.com has a comprehensive listing of mineral and lapidary clubs from across the United States. It could be the most complete and up-to-date listing on the web. Included are hundreds of clubs and organizations located in all 50 states.

Severe storms damaged many homes and buildings this past weekend in Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Iowa and Michigan. Tornadoes struck three areas near: Laomi, IL; Greenfield, IL and Columbia City, IN.

A satellite image of the heavy blanket of ice and snow in the central United States. Power and other services are still not restored to hundreds of thousands of people. Steve Beshear, Governor of Kentucky says the storm was “the biggest natural disaster that this state has ever experienced in modern history.”

The Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago has built an eco-friendly house for visitors to tour. It is made with recycled materials and is full of energy-saving, high-tech gadgets.

Governors from eight Great Lakes states signed an interstate water compact to protect water levels and water quality of the Great Lakes. The House might act on the issue today. States involved are: Minnesota, Michigan, Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and New York.

Some state and county fairs are making an effort to go green. Vendors are switching to paper products instead of styrofoam, and recycling containers are becoming available. The Marin County fair in California even installed a solar panel to power concert amplifiers.

Teachers often need a source of free printable state maps for use with their students. Here is a website that has a nice collection of county, city and state outline maps that you can download and use for free.

NASA Landsat Image

Governors from eight Great Lakes states signed an interstate water compact to protect water levels and water quality of the Great Lakes. President Bush says that he will sign the water management plan that will benefit Minnesota, Michigan, Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and New York.

That’s how much plastic pipe will be placed under a lake near the Sherman Hospital in Elgin, Illinios. The pipe will be filled with an antifreeze solution that will be circulated through a geothermal heating/cooling system for the hospital.

A large landslide threatening several buildings in this news story has multiple possible causes. Some blame it on a leak in a vacant building, others suspect leaking utilities, others a spring and some think that it is “natural causes”. Landslides can be very difficult to diagnose and this is a good example.

Used sandbags stink. They have been in contact with sewage, farm runoff and many other contaminants. They have been wet and a substrate for molds and other nasty growths. What can be done with them? Midwest cities now face this huge disposal problem.

After the flooding in the Midwest, stagnant waters will be a good breeding ground for mosquitoes. There is concern that this may lead to a greater number of West Nile infections.

Waters are going down in the upper part of the Mississippi River basin. Now people in parts of Iowa and Illinois are starting to clean up and repair flood damage.

Flooding continues in the Midwest United States with some rivers being above flood stage for over two straight weeks. Satellite images of Iowa, Illinois and Missouri show large lakes where levee breaks have flooded hundreds of acres.

The Army Corps of Engineers has a new map showing that 12 of their Mississippi River levees between Muscatine, Iowa, and Quincy, Illinois have been overtopped and twenty more are at risk of overtopping.

View the Corps of Engineers Map (.pdf)

The Mississippi River breached a levee near Gulfport, Illinois flooding areas that had been assumed safe. The damage would have been much greater if the federal government had not bought out a large number of properties after severe flooding in the Gulfport area in 1993.

Chicago Landsat Image

Several tornadoes caused damage in Cook, Lake and Will counties. Numerous homes and vehicles were damaged and power was cut off to thousands of customers.

The US Army Corps of Engineers has a deal with McHenry County to install at least 20 ground water monitoring wells for a total cost of over $500,000. The county will operate the wells and collect data that will be used to plan the county’s development and protect its ground water resources.

Everyone things that the “Big” earthquakes happen in California, but sometimes they can happen in other United States locations. The recent Illinois earthquake should be a wake-up call.

USGS has a Podcast interview about this earthquake with Harley Benz, Scientist-in-Charge at the USGS National Earthquake Information Center. For specific details about the event you can find data at the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program.

Geotimes has a summary report on the recent earthquake in southeastern Illinois.

An earthquake occurred in southeastern Illinois this morning at 4:36 AM central time, Apr 18, 2008. The epicenter was located about 6 miles from West Salem, Illinois, 20 miles southwest of Vincennes, Indiana and 125 miles southwest of Indianapolis, Indiana. Early news postings say that no injuries or deaths have been reported, however, some minor damage has occurred. It was felt by people as far away as Chicago.

Early News Report from Associated Press