Flooding troubles parts of Indiana

DELPHI, Ind. – Residents evacuated their homes and commuters battled flooded streets Wednesday after days of heavy rain sent northern Indiana rivers spilling out of their banks.

Crews helped people from houses along a stretch of the Tippecanoe River near Lafayette that saw record flooding last winter as water rushed through the Oakdale Dam at the southern end of Lake Freeman.

Rescuers said they had fewer people to evacuate near the Tippecanoe River than last year, when flooding swamped hundreds of homes, because many of those living near the river had already left.

“We’re having a lot less people we’re having to go out and get,” said state Conservation Officer Matt Tholen, who was helping with the evacuations Wednesday. “I think people paid better attention (to the warnings) than before.”

The National Weather Service issued a flash flood warning for the Tippecanoe River and urged those in the area to move to higher ground, although water was not forecast to reach the levels of the January 2008 flood.

A flood warning also was issued for the northern third of the state and counties along the Wabash River in western Indiana.

High water caused other scattered evacuations and road closings, mostly in flood-prone areas.

Fort Wayne received more than four inches of rain since Saturday, including about 1.5 inches Tuesday and nearly two inches Sunday. Backed-up sewers caused flooding on many city streets, and residents gathered to stack sandbags in front of houses along the St. Mary’s River.

“It’s like this every time it rains,” said Travis Simms, who lives in the area. “But everybody helps everybody. That’s what community is supposed to be about.”

The city was bringing in extra water pumps, some from Pennsylvania, to help clear sewers.

In northwestern Indiana’s Porter County, a woman who drove through a flooded roadway had to be rescued by boat Wednesday from a county road just north of the Kankakee River.

“A woman driving a 16-foot delivery truck decided she was in a canoe and drove through the high water,” sheriff’s Lt. Chris Eckert said.