Algonquin Families Cope with Flooding by Helping Each Other

Eleven-year-old Carrick Roggenbuck spent the day putting up sandbags and helping his neighbors keep the dark murky Fox River from further flooding their homes.

“It’s a neighborhood effort,” the Algonquin boy said, glancing around his LaFox River Drive neighborhood with Brayden Cedergren, 10, who was also helping.

Homeowners on LaFox River Drive, near Riverside Park, began noticing water seeping into their basements Wednesday. The basements were flooded by Thursday morning.

Meghan Roggenbuck tried to get as many personal items to higher ground as possible. Everyone was just trying to bail out water and pile sandbags higher, she said.

Valerie Cedergren has been doing both, albeit with some challenges. Her family’s sump pump died Wednesday so she had to scramble to rent one. The first place she called, in Algonquin, was sold out. She was able to find the equipment at a Crystal Lake shop.

Both families were waiting Thursday afternoon for more sandbags. Platt Hill Nursery had donated some, but neighbors needed more because the water kept inching up. Algonquin officials said the Fox River was at 11.84 feet by mid-day. It is expected to continue rising, cresting to 14.0 by Saturday.

“This is definitely worse,” Carrick Roggenbuck said.

He was only 5-year-old the last time his home flooded yet he remembered how the water lapped up to the backyard. This time, it entered his home.

Brayden Cedergren surveyed the water that obliterated the backyards, took flowerbeds downstream and submerged lawn chairs and other items. His family lost items.

But the boys were not focusing on what their families lost, instead, they kept helping push wheel barrels with water and lifting and stacking sandbags.

“The neighborhood all came together,” Carrick Roggenbuck said.