Flooded Resident: "I Cried All Day"; Thousands Evacuate Flooding
BLITZER: We're going to have more coverage coming from in Boston. Let's turn to a major story affecting five Midwestern states right now. Downpours have pushed rivers over their banks forcing thousands of people out of their homes. Flooding has devastated the small town of Spring Bay, Illinois. Our Jim Spellman is there with the latest. Jim, how bad is it?</s>JIM SPELLMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Wolf, it has just started to rain here in the last hour. That's really the last thing they need. There could be another inch of rain added on top of what's already flooded. Take a look here. Normally, the banks of the Illinois River are all the way down those woods down there. Today, about two solid blocks of the town are flooded, about 70 homes or so underwater. We haven't had reports of widespread damage, but for low laying towns like this they're getting hit and hit hard look.</s>SPELLMAN (voice-over): Last minute prep in Spring Bay, Illinois, as floodwaters inundates this riverside community. (on camera): Where is your home?</s>STARLYNN WINCHELL, FLOOD VICTIM: My home is that gray and white mobile home with the black shutters on it.</s>SPELLMAN: You can't get to your home by foot now?</s>WINCHELL: No.</s>SPELLMAN: Have you ever seen this much water come up here?</s>WINCHELL: No.</s>SPELLMAN: Scary?</s>WINCHELL: Yes.</s>SPELLMAN (voice-over): Starlynn Winchell's home, along with about 40 others in this trailer community, began to flood Sunday and the water has continued to rise.</s>WINCHELL: Yesterday I cried all day.</s>SPELLMAN (on camera): And today?</s>WINCHELL: Today, I'm not crying yet, but the more I see that water come up, the more I'll cry.</s>SPELLMAN (voice-over): The Red Cross is on site assessing the area as the fire chief prepares for the worse. (on camera): This is the evacuation order?</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is the evacuation notice.</s>SPELLMAN (voice-over): Mandatory evacuations for residents in low- lying areas, his biggest fear, people ignoring the order and getting trapped in hard-to-reach parts of the community.</s>CHIEF DENNIS PERRY, SPRING BAY FIRE DEPARTMENT: Some of these places I simply can't get to and that's going to be a real big disadvantage to us.</s>SPELLMAN: Jared Teegarden just moved to Spring Bay a few months ago.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Welcome to the neighborhood.</s>SPELLMAN: As the river began to flood, he built his homemade levee from four dump trucks full of sand. So far, it's working.</s>JARED TEEGARDEN, HOMEOWNER: There would be four feet of water here if not. So we're doing all right. We're better than most.</s>SPELLMAN: His neighbor, Brad Lohman, among those not doing as well.</s>BRAD LOHMAN, BAR OWNER: It's kind of emotional to kind of see this situation and, you know, it's bad deal.</s>SPELLMAN: He's worked at this bar since he was a teenager eventually buying it. He says repairs will total more than $50,000. Will he reopen?</s>LOHMAN: No, I don't think so. I think we're going to be a total loss. I really do.</s>SPELLMAN: They expect this river here in Spring Bay will crest later this afternoon, Wolf. As quick as they came in, it will take that much longer for it to go out. Authorities here tell us a week and a half before the water is back inside the banks of the Illinois River and they can finish up last left behind -- Wolf.</s>BLITZER: Jim Spellman in the water over there. All right, thanks very much. Let's get back to what's going on here in Boston. The bombing suspect makes a court appearance from his hospital bed. We're going to tell you more about what he said, what the judge said at the end of that hearing.