New Year's weather floods county

Streams swollen with snow-melt and creeks overflowing with brown rain water flooded several southern Indiana counties Wednesday and Thursday. The water consumed fields, basements and more than 20 county roads. \nFortunately for the residents of Monroe County, immediate responses by personnel from the Monroe County Emergency Management and the Monroe County Highway Department, combined with a several-hour lull of the rain, kept traffic accidents and traffic jam headaches to a minimum. \nIn other areas of the state, gusty thunderstorm winds coated a significant section of north-central Indiana with more than an inch of ice Thursday. The storm left more than 145,000 homes and businesses without electricity because of fallen tree limbs and damaged power lines.\nThe worst of the ice was concentrated in a stretch roughly from Lafayette to the Anderson and Muncie areas, while several inches of snow fell further north, The Associated Press reported.\nMeanwhile, a flood warning for Monroe County issued by the National Weather Service stated precipitation would be ending Thursday morning but roadways, rivers, streams and creeks could remain flooded. The warning advised drivers to be cautious, never drive through flooded roadways and never allow children to play in flood waters.\n"A problem I saw was a girl (who) got her car stuck in a lot of water on Anderson Road," said John Chambers, Monroe County Highway Department superintendent. "But she got out, thank goodness."\nThe flooding was a result of a snowy December and a wet beginning of January that left tributaries, rivers and lakes throughout central and southern Indiana saturated. Monroe County was bombarded with more than 18 inches of snow in December, according to a precipitation report compiled at IU's power plant, most of which was dumped on Bloomington during a snowstorm Dec. 22-23. \nThe same snowstorm was categorized as a blizzard throughout several Indiana counties aligning the Indiana and Ohio border, because more than 30 inches of snow collected in some Hoosier communities. As the snow melted from higher temperatures, rain fell during a five day period, causing the already rising water to create flood conditions. \nMore than four inches of rain fell between Jan. 1 and the morning of Jan. 6 in parts of Monroe County, according to a National Weather Service precipitation map.\nThe highway department knew about the possibility of flooding beforehand, and their first goal was making sure all of the flooded roads were closed to public traffic. \n"Our first order of business was ensuring public safety," Chambers said. "We had all of the roads with high water barricaded."\nAfter the crews finished this task, they proceeded to get as much water off the roads as possible. The crews used machines to clear culverts, and created channels for the water to drain off the road into ditches and sewers.\n"Most of the flooding was just water over roads, mostly in low lying areas," Chambers said.\nJohn Hooker III, director of Monroe County Emergency Management, said his agency was prepared for the worst, which enabled a quick response.\n"Usually the National Guard sends down 50 guardsmen and sandbags (in response to flooding)," Hooker said. "This time it was more pro-active, I gave them 8,000 sandbags, and they filled them and were ready this morning. They filled 11 army trucks and were on call to respond to flooding problems."\nAfter leaving Monroe County, Hooker said the guardsmen headed to Shelbyville and other towns east of Indianapolis to combat flooding there. Monroe County Emergency Management also had sandbags available for people to fill and use to prevent flooding at their homes, Hooker said. \n"We only had three people come in, and they only picked up six to 20 bags, so it wasn't anything too major," Hooker said.\nChambers said the flooding was already beginning to recede Thursday afternoon. He said the fact that Monroe County does not have a river is the main reason it was spared from major flooding.\n"The list of small tributaries overflowing has already been cut in half," Chambers said. "Every day it's going to be getting better. Thank goodness there are no rivers in the county. We are just dealing with creeks and small tributaries. In places like Owen County, they're saying the river isn't cresting until Saturday." \nMike Shartrain, a meteorologist for the National Weather Service in Indianapolis, said Monroe County's forecast in the coming days is dry. This will allow the water to return to non-flood stage levels. There is a small chance of rain tonight, but the forecast for the rest of the weekend should remain precipitation free.\nThe Associated Press contributed to this article.\n-- Contact City & State Editor Mike Wilson at mhwilson@indiana.edu.