At least five people have been killed after days of powerful storms and widespread flooding swept across Indiana, state officials said, while rescue crews in Indianapolis spent Saturday using boats to reach residents trapped by fast-rising water along the White River.
Relentless rainfall has soaked the state over the past week, pushing rivers to historic crests and forcing many Hoosiers to leave their homes for safer, higher ground.
More than a dozen Indiana counties have issued local disaster declarations, with some of the hardest-hit areas stretching along river communities from Hamilton County into the northern suburbs of Indianapolis.
President Trump has approved an emergency declaration for Indiana, making federal disaster aid available to support the state’s response, the Federal Emergency Management Agency said Saturday.
Residents evacuate as water rises
Indianapolis Mayor Joe Hogsett described the flooding as the city’s worst in more than three decades, warning that the situation remained fluid as water levels and conditions continued to change quickly.
By Saturday, hundreds of homes in neighborhoods situated between the river and nearby canals had been evacuated, as emergency teams launched boat rescues for residents already cut off by floodwaters.
Indianapolis Fire Department spokesperson Rita Reith said crews had rescued 95 people and 45 pets by late afternoon. Emergency dispatchers fielded hundreds of calls for help throughout the day.
The governor’s office said more than 350 evacuations had taken place in Delaware County, while a senior mobile home community in Tipton County was also being cleared. In Fayette County, responders were conducting additional rescues and welfare checks.
Indiana authorities said Saturday at least five people have died as a result of the severe weather over the past week. That includes a boy killed when a tree fell on his home, a woman who was swept away after driving into floodwaters and a teen who was reported missing after jumping in to a river on Wednesday.
“My heart is with the families and loved ones of the five Hoosiers we have lost and every family whose life has been changed by these storms,” Indiana Gov. Mike Braun said in a statement issued Saturday. “Please continue to take flooding seriously and stay away from floodwaters.”
Rivers and creeks surge after days of rain
Jacob Spence, director of Marion County Emergency Management, called it a once-in-a-lifetime type flood.
“This is an unprecedented event, and unfortunately we’re setting some new records,” he told The Associated Press.
The National Weather Service reported that more than 11 inches (28 centimeters) of rain fell over a two-day period in some areas. The White River crested at more than 24 feet (7.32 meters) in the communities of Anderson and Noblesville, surpassing records set in 1913.
While some floodwaters were receding north of Indianapolis, flash-flood warnings and watches remained in place Saturday across a swath of central Indiana.
Forecasters expected the White River to crest Saturday evening in the Indianapolis area, where National Guard vehicles were among those helping with the rescue efforts. Rita Reith, a spokesperson with the Indianapolis Fire Department, put the number of rescues at 95 people and 45 pets as of late afternoon.
Earlier this week, severe storms wreaked havoc across other parts of the Midwest, causing tornadoes, heavy rains and flash flooding.
Storm damage was reported from the Chicago area all the way to western Pennsylvania. Power had yet to be restored for some residents in other parts of Indiana.
Cleanup begins for upstream communities
Residents posted videos on social media that showed submerged homes, vehicles stranded in high water, a power pole being toppled by rushing water and roads being washed away.
There were ominous clouds over Noblesville on Saturday morning, but the river already had marked its historic crest the night before, leaving homes standing in water, parking lots flooded and corn fields saturated.
The community’s historic covered bridge — Potter’s Bridge — was still standing.
“This is crazy for all of us,” said Matt Doudt, the city’s photographer, who was out early to document the aftermath. He pointed to a grassy commons area that usually hosts farmers’ market and concerts. That was under water. So was a brand new memorial and flower garden recently installed by the city.
He said Noblesville, with its historic charm and brick streets, didn’t get much rain in recent days but that the flooding was caused by the downpours that happened in communities upstream. All that water had no where to go but rush down to Noblesville — and now Indianapolis, he said.
Still, Doudt and others are thankful.
“We have a lot of damage,” he said, “But we didn’t lose any lives and everybody got rescued and our city is taking care of people pretty well.”
