Nearby areas suffer from floods

Tornados and floods struck parts of western Indiana last week including the areas of Terre Haute, Rosedale and Brazil. Hundreds of homes in the area were damaged and about 20 families were forced to evacuate to hotels. \nThe disasters, which have been grouped together because of their location, have been ranked a level four out of five on the National Red Cross disaster scale, which calls for $250,000 to $2.5 million in aid. The aid money will go to help those whose homes were lost or severely damaged by flooding or heavy winds.\nThe flooding in Terre Haute started Tuesday night as a result of seven days of heavy thunderstorms. "Excess water from northern Indiana caused rivers around Terre Haute to overflow," said Troy Lauthen, assistant director of emergency services at the Terre Haute Red Cross. \nThis month's flood levels in the area are predicted to be higher than the record-breaking ones set in 1994. Many streets in Terre Haute already have been closed and acres of farmland have been ruined by the flooding of the Wabash River. \nIn nearby Rosedale, tornado damage from Wednesday night left residents without electricity and drinking water until Friday. More than 200 homes were affected in the small town of 850 as some houses were moved off of their foundations. Much of the damage was caused by fallen trees knocked over by the tornado's winds.\n"(Federal Emergency Management Agency) came down here and declared it a disaster, calling it the worst storm they'd seen (in the area) in 15 years," said Parke County Deputy Sheriff Randy Kneeland, who spoke in front of Rosedale's fire department, which had its new wing destroyed by the tornado. Construction crews in Rosedale worked through Saturday evening removing downed trees from roads and residential areas.\n"When I came in from Terre Haute Wednesday night after the storm had passed, not one road was open and you could hardly see a thing," said Tracy Barbee of Rosedale. "I had to park at the other side of town, and while I was walking to my house I began wondering if I even had a house to go home to."\nThe Red Cross of Terre Haute has been working endlessly since Wednesday supplying food and water to citizens and rescue workers. The 100-person crew, which has only 14 permanent members, has supplied the towns with more than 4,100 meals in three days. In addition to the Red Cross, local church groups, businesses and construction companies have donated food, generators and manpower to the relief effort. \n"We couldn't have done all this without outside support," Kneeland said. \nMany citizens in the area also expressed a feeling of community togetherness as a result of the disasters. The relief effort in Rosedale was described as a community event by Lauthen. \n"No one had to ask anyone to help. The whole town was out cleaning up the day after," he said.