Chicago Flood 2013: Travel Becomes a Nightmare as Heavy Rain Leads to Major Flooding in the Windy City

Chicago is seeing major flooding this Spring 2013 season. Heavy rain and flooding has put travel at a standstill as major roads are closed, trains are delayed, flights are cancelled are schools are closed.

A flash flood warning was issued for 17 counties in Illinois, including Chicago, by the National Weather Service. Over the past 24 hours, the Chicago area has received between three and seven inches of rain and it still isn't over, Reuters reports.

Due to major flooding, parts of the Kennedy, Edens and Eisenhower Expressways were shut down on Thursday morning.

For those traveling by air, more than 500 flights were canceled at Chicago O'Hare International Airport and those that weren't canceled faced delays of at least 90 minutes. At least 30 flights were also canceled at Midway International Airport and others flights faced 30-mintue delays.

"There are all kinds of things going on, lots of flooded basements, flooded streets and viaducts," Chicago Fire Department Chief Kevin MacGregor said according to Reuters.

Videos and photos depict cars fully under water in some parts of the city.

Railways were also affected as a power outage due to a lightning strike caused major delays. Power was restored but trains were getting through at "much slower rates than normal," Metra spokesman Tom Miller said. "We're playing catch-up."

Some passengers had to wait up to two hours on trains because of such a heavy backup.

The flooding also caused a sinkhole to open up on a residential street on the South Side. The sinkhole swallowed three cars and one person was hospitalized.

The suburb of Lombard declared a state of emergency because of the flooding. Residents have been told to avoid traveling.

Chicago isn't the only city being impacted by the storm. Heavy rain is falling in West Texas where a fertilizer plant explosion occurred on Wednesday. There is also a risk of thunderstorms for parts of Mississippi, Arkansas, Tennessee, Kentucky, Illinois and Indiana through Thursday evening.