Flooding in Seymour left many roads submerged by several feet of water.
(George Hale / WTIU News)
Storms last week pounded the Midwest, bringing floods to Southern Indiana and killing at least one person. The WFIU/WTIU News team went to the hardest-hit areas and others where the worst is yet to come.
Heavy rain started last Wednesday and continued through the weekend. By Monday, floodwaters began to recede, but towns such as Columbus were still cut off. Parts of State Roads 46 and 11 remained underwater.
Columbus lies at the confluence of two rivers, which puts it at higher risk of flooding. Columbus Fire Chief Andy Lay said the city's portion of the East Fork of the White River saw 17 feet of major flooding.
Drone footage of the flooding in Columbus. (Courtesy, Columbus Fire Dept.)
The fire department couldn’t cross town. But learning from past floods, fire officials had a plan.
“We already know before the rain is coming what's going to be impacted, and we proactively get people staged where they need to be staged properly," Lay said. "We put additional ambulances on the west side. We allowed them to run out of our firehouses, so they had shelter.”
Emergency response teams had a busy weekend in Bartholomew County, making 15 water rescues and saving 30 people stranded in cars and homeless encampments.
Columbus Mayor Mary Ferdon said Columbus' flooding was a once-in-a-decade event.
"Fortunately, it is not near as bad as what we saw in 2008, but anytime you have a flood of this magnitude it does affect everybody's lives,” she said.
Clear skies and high winds gradually brought down Columbus water levels.
The East Fork of the White River was four feet and eight inches over flood level Monday, but by Thursday it was predicted to crest 11 and a half feet above flood level. The Martin County Commissionrs issued an emergency declaration.
Shoals hasn't had a flood this major since 2005. (Clayton Baumgarth/WTIU News)
Matthew Copeland is the town marshal for Shoals. He said the flood waters were slow, which gave them time to warn residents.
"Some of our local population that lives down in the lower areas, the owners are having to move house trailers and things like that,” he said.
One of those residents was Tim Jones. He cleared out his basement in preparation.
“It's been a headache for about three days,” he said as he put his belongings under a tarp by the road.
His plans mostly involve hunkering down and waiting it out.
“I'm gonna hang out here, top floor," he said. "I'm gonna shut all the power off down to the basement and hang out.”
The National Weather Service said the East Fork of the White River at Shoals isn’t expected to crest until early Friday morning and won’t fall below flood stage levels until around April 17.
Although only one death has been confirmed in Indiana, more than 20 people have been killed because of the storms across the Midwest and South.
The Indiana Family and Social Services Administration is advising residents to report flood damage to their homes at in211.org or by dialing 211. The agency can dispatch volunteers to help prevent further property damage.
Clayton Baumgarth and George Hale contributed reporting to this story.
