Indiana flooding kills at least six as rivers crest

At least six people have died in Indiana after days of historic storms sent rivers over their banks, forced evacuations and left nearly 130,000 utility customers without power as forecasters warned that more flooding remained possible Sunday.

Some parts of the state received more than 11 inches of rain over three days beginning Aug. 11, according to a preliminary report from the National Weather Service. The storms pushed the White River to record levels in some communities and caused what Indianapolis Mayor Joe Hogsett called the city’s “most severe flooding in 30+ years.”

The dead included a 4-year-old boy, two men and three women, state homeland security department spokesperson Liz Woods told The Guardian. Officials in Jennings County said the boy was killed Tuesday when strong winds knocked a tree through his bedroom.

“This is obviously unexpected,” Jennings County deputy chief Cody Low told a local ABC affiliate. “There’s nothing we can say that is going to make it any better. We’re going to push through this as a community.”

Delaware County officials said the body of 19-year-old Matthew Morey was recovered Saturday after he jumped from a bridge into the rushing Mississinewa River with friends three days earlier, The Guardian reported. Family and friends had gathered at the bridge to remember Morey, a recent high school graduate who was headed to Purdue University, and to warn others about swollen rivers.

Officials in Delaware County also recovered the body of 58-year-old Stephanie Sallee and her dog in a cornfield Saturday, not far from her car. They believe she had been driving on a flooded road when her vehicle was swept away. Her family, in a statement shared with local news outlets, remembered her as compassionate and loving and said she adored her grandchildren and other young relatives.

In Indianapolis, flooding from the White River peaked early Sunday, and the city’s Department of Public Works said floodwaters had begun to recede. The agency said some floodgates were being reopened while crews continued to inspect levees, control gates and other flood-control systems.

“Engineering will closely monitor our flood-control infrastructure (levees, control gates, etc.) to ensure it continues to operate as anticipated,” the department said Sunday. “Crews are working to clear debris blockages of natural flow and monitor flood gates.”

Emergency shelters remained open after hundreds of homes along the river and its canals were evacuated, and first responders used boats to rescue people trapped by rising water. Gov. Mike Braun’s office said more than 350 evacuations and scores of rescue and welfare checks had occurred elsewhere in the state, including at a senior mobile home community north of Indianapolis, The Guardian reported.

Northern parts of Indiana began drying out Sunday, and recovery work was underway. “I must admit it is a good morning,” Christine Altman, president of the Hamilton County Board of Commissioners, said during a briefing. “It’s not raining, and the water is receding.” She said the county, just north of Indianapolis, had no deaths, though officials were assessing whether a major bridge damaged by flooding could be repaired or would need to be replaced.

Flooding was expected to continue along the White River in Anderson, where NPR reported the river rose to a record 24.9 feet, and along the Wabash River and the East Fork White River. The Guardian reported the White River crested at more than 24 feet in Anderson and Noblesville, surpassing records set in 1913.

Nearly 130,000 utility customers statewide remained without power by midday Sunday, down from a peak of about 300,000, according to Woods and PowerOutage.us. NPR reported that more than 128,000 people were without power Sunday afternoon, citing NIPSCO.

In Rocky Ripple, northwest of Indianapolis, hundreds of volunteers gathered Sunday with shovels and sandbags to reinforce the town’s levee, according to NPR member station WFYI. Margaret Brabant, a resident since 1992, wore a yellow life jacket as she directed arriving volunteers.

“This is pretty overwhelming, because the generosity is just stunning,” Brabant told WFYI.

President Donald Trump approved an emergency declaration for Indiana on Saturday, allowing the Federal Emergency Management Agency to help with response and recovery efforts. The National Weather Service warned that thunderstorms late Sunday could bring heavy rain and additional flooding to already affected parts of central Indiana, and said heavy rainfall and possible flooding were also expected in West Virginia.