[Chicago flood]

The Chicago Flood has caused an estimated $1.5 billion in damages to the city's business community. After the stop of the flood and an investigation into its cause, Mayor Daley handles the political fallout caused by the disaster.

0:04Copy video clip URL Extensive damage was caused by the flooding of the Chicago River. County workers have begun trying to salvage the old records from the flooded basements of a government building. The Carson, Pirie, Scott department store is still closed ten days after the flood, and their insurance company is responsible for millions of dollars in damages. The Chamber of Commerce estimates that losses in the business community will add up to $1.5 billion.

3:09Copy video clip URL Mayor Daley disciplined seven employees who he says could have prevented the flood, which began when the Chicago River burst into old underground freight tunnels. The tunnels were mostly abandoned in the 1950s, but a cable company is currently using them. Months ago, the company discovered a leak in a tunnel underneath the river. Their video and the city’s investigation confirm that pilings driven into the river last fall had punctured the old freight tunnel.

5:13Copy video clip URL The company responsible for the pilings claims that the city never told them about the tunnel, and that a city inspector signed off on their work. Daley says that the inspector approved the work without actually inspecting the site where the leak occurred. Daley has fired the acting transportation commissioner, who had received a memo warning of possible flooding a week and a half before the flood.

6:30Copy video clip URL Because of the flood, Daley had ordered the evacuation of 250,000 downtown office workers as they shut down the power. The company tasked with stopping the flood dumped gravel at either side of the tunnel to plug the leak and pumped water out of the area.

9:51Copy video clip URL Mayor Daley warns that this type of disaster could happen anywhere in the country due to America’s crumbling infrastructure.

10:27Copy video clip URL End of tape.