The Little Calumet River overflowed in September 2008 after a levee failed, and that flood still sets the reference point for river water in Hammond. This guide sets out what was recorded, what was built afterwards and what a homeowner can take from it, and it separates the sourced record from what is not known.
Key takeaways
- The September 2008 flood came after a levee failed on the Little Calumet, according to the Army Corps of Engineers.
- The Corps reports two deaths and damage it puts at $88 million, and it describes hundreds displaced.
- Hotels near the river in Hammond were evacuated, and basements across Lake and Porter counties flooded.
- The Corps concluded 22 miles of levee and floodwall work in the Little Calumet River Basin in July 2024.
- The February 2018 storm was the first big test of the walls built after 2008.
- River history tells a homeowner where to look, but the readings in each house decide what is dry.
What happened in September 2008?
The Little Calumet overflowed after a levee failed, and the water spread through the low ground on both sides of the river in Lake County. The Army Corps of Engineers reports two deaths and hundreds displaced.
The river rose quickly once the levee gave way, and the water moved into the streets and then into the houses nearest the banks. Hammond sits on the Illinois line with the Little Calumet running through the city, so its riverfront streets were among the first affected. The Corps reports damage of $88 million from the event, and the figure is given here only as the agency's own estimate of the flood's cost.
The flood was not only a river event. The same weeks brought flooded basements across Lake and Porter counties, according to a regional public radio report from that month, which means the water that reached many houses came from the ground and the storm drains as well as the river.
Where did the water go in Hammond?
Hotels near the river in Hammond were evacuated, and the water reached streets on both sides of the Little Calumet. The Munster side was also affected, and Hammond's fire chief said homes were lost there.
The evacuation of riverfront hotels shows how close the water came to the built-up parts of the city. For a homeowner the lesson is about the streets nearest the river, which take water first and which are read most carefully when a river rises.
Munster sits on the same river corridor just north-west of Hammond. The fire chief's account of homes lost on that side is part of the local record, and it is why the river is treated as the first question in any loss near the water.
What did the clean-up after 2008 show?
Silt and debris were the hardest parts of the clean-up, and the materials that stood in river water were removed rather than dried. The lesson still shapes how a river loss is handled.
River water leaves silt in every joint, under every finish and in the stud bays. Silt dries into a crust that holds moisture against the material, so the clean-up has to remove it before the drying can work. That is slower than clearing clean water, and it is the reason the river response is organized in stages.
The clean-up also showed that the water could reach the ground floor and the walls well above the basement. A basement loss is read as the start of the path, not the whole of it, and the readings are taken on every floor the water could have reached.
What did the Army Corps build afterwards?
The Corps concluded its Little Calumet River Basin levee and floodwall work in July 2024, covering 22 miles of levees and floodwalls. That changed the river side of the risk.
A levee and a floodwall hold back the river, and they reduce the chance that the water will come over the bank onto the streets. The 22 miles of work are the largest change to the river side of the picture since 2008, and a homeowner should know that the river risk has been reduced by that work.
A wall does not stop the rain that falls on a lot. Water from the sky, from the ground and from the storm drains still reaches a basement behind a wall, so the protection against the river is one part of the protection a house needs.
What did the February 2018 storm test?
The February 2018 heavy rain was the first big test of the walls built after the 2008 flood, according to a Chicago television news report. It showed what the walls did and what they did not do.
The walls were built to hold back the river, and the storm tested them without a river flood. The reporting from that time shows the walls were a test of the system, not a failure of it, and the water that reached houses in the storm came mainly from the rain and the ground.
The lesson for a homeowner is that a storm can cause a basement loss even when the river is inside its banks. The drainage on the lot, the sump and the window wells matter in the same way they do anywhere else.
What does the 17.3-foot gauge record mean?
A Chicago television news report says the National Weather Service recorded a gauge height of 17.3 feet on the river in 2008. The number is a record of the river's height at the gauge, not a measure of how far the water reached in any house.
A river gauge measures the water level at one point. It does not say how high the water stood in a particular basement, which depends on the ground, the drainage and the house itself. The gauge record is useful for understanding the scale of the 2008 flood, and it should be read that way.
A homeowner who wants to know how high water reached in a particular house should look at the high-water line on the house, the photographs from the time and any record the owner kept. Those are the records that match a house to a flood.
What should a Hammond homeowner do with this history?
Treat the river as one possible source, check the path from the ground and the storm drains, and keep a record of the high-water mark and the readings for each loss.
A homeowner on a river-side street should know where the high-water line of 2008 was, if the house has a mark or a photograph of it. That knowledge tells the owner how close the water came, and it helps when a new storm brings a new question.
The practical steps are the same as for any basement: keep the gutters and the downspouts working, check the sump before the wet season, keep the window wells clear and know where the main shut-off is. The river history is a reason to do those things early, not a reason to panic.
What the history does not show
The sources used for this guide do not give a count of the basements that flooded in Hammond, a neighborhood survey or a flood map for each street. Those are not stated here.
Local reporting describes the flood at the county level, and the Corps reports the event at the river level. Neither gives a house-by-house account, so this guide does not put a number on how many Hammond basements were affected, and it does not claim to know which streets flooded most.
A homeowner who needs that detail should ask the city, the county or the local library for the records of the time. The history here is the part the sources support, and the rest is for the records to answer.
How does a river loss differ from a storm loss?
A river loss brings silt and debris and reaches the house from the outside as well as the ground, while a storm loss usually comes down through the roof, the windows or a drain. The clean-up and the drying follow different first steps for each.
A river loss often leaves a high-water line on the outside of the house, the garage and the fence, and that line is the record of how far the water came. A storm loss rarely leaves one, so the photographs of the inside carry more of the record.
Both can reach a basement and the floor above, and both are read on readings. The difference is in the first hour, where a river loss needs more care about silt and a storm loss needs more care about where the water came in.
Why do the readings matter more than the flood line?
A flood line shows the highest point the water reached on the outside of a building. It does not show how far the water travelled into the materials, and the readings do.
Wet materials below and behind the line hold moisture after the water is gone, and a wall can stay wet for weeks above the line on the inside. The drying is therefore set by the readings, and the flood line is one fact among several.
The readings are the proof that the drying was finished. An owner who has them can show an insurer or a buyer that each material reached its goal, which the flood line alone cannot show.
Frequently asked questions
Did the 2008 flood reach Hammond?
Yes. The Little Calumet overflowed, hotels near the river in Hammond were evacuated, and basements across Lake and Porter counties flooded.
Is the river still a risk now that the levee work is finished?
The work reduces the river risk, but rain and ground water still reach basements. A house behind a wall still needs its drainage and sump checked.
What was the gauge height in 2008?
A Chicago television news report says the National Weather Service recorded 17.3 feet in 2008. That is the river's height at the gauge, not a figure for any particular house.
Why did homes on the Munster side flood?
The Little Calumet flood reached the Munster side, and Hammond's fire chief reported homes lost there. The river corridor is shared by both towns.
Should I keep a record of the high-water mark?
Yes. A photograph and a note of where the mark sits on the house is useful for any future question about that property.
Where can I read the official flood record?
The Army Corps of Engineers and the National Weather Service publish their own records of the 2008 event, and those should be checked directly for any figure.
Can a river loss be dried without taking out the walls?
Sometimes, where the readings fall to the goal and the material is sound. Where silt or saturation has reached the wall cavity, the wall is opened so that it can dry.
Sources
This guide is general information for Lake County homeowners, not a substitute for an on-site inspection. Prices are estimates. See our disclaimer.