Flooding hits Central Indiana

Heavy rains fell in central Indiana on Thursday and Friday, causing extensive
flooding.

Communities north of Indianapolis such as Kokomo, Lebanon and Tipton experienced more than four inches of rain within a 24-hour period, in addition to large amounts of rain from previous days.

Various rivers and streams flooded, some of which reached record levels, causing road closures.

As of Sunday afternoon, two people died as a result of the flooding.

Robert Morgan, 64, of Arcadia, Ind., died Friday night after he attempted to cross high water that was moving swiftly across the roadway, while driving, according to a press release from the Hamilton County Sheriff’s Office. His vehicle traveled approximately 100 yards downstream where it was found submerged to the top. Water rescue teams were able to pull him out, but efforts to revive him were unsuccessful.

David Baker, 42,  also of Arcadia, called 911 at about 1 a.m. Saturday morning and reported his vehicle was sinking in the water of Cicero Creek near Arcadia. Officers responding to the scene heard a yell for help, but were unable to locate the vehicle.
His truck was located in the water on Saturday, and his dog, who was riding in the vehicle with him, was rescued. However, Baker was not located at that time. His body was found by Hamilton County officials just before 10 a.m. Sunday, according to a press release.

During the weekend, Gov. Mike Pence visited flood-damaged areas of Elwood, Kokomo and Tipton.

“We have begun the process of assessing the damage so we can offer guidance to our Indiana Department of Homeland Security,” Pence said in a press release. “While we must wait until damage assessments are complete to determine eligibility for disaster loans, our administration will do all we can to support the victims of flooding in their time of need.”

Sawyer Lightsey, a sophomore at IU Kokomo, said it was raining a lot when he went to bed around 11 p.m. on Thursday.

“My parents woke me up, and we were getting a lot of water in the basement,” Lightsey said. “We were starting to pull up everything. There’s nothing we could do to hold it (the water) back. It was getting worse and worse from there.”

Lightsey, whose bedroom is in the basement, said since he had just woke up, he was a little confused when the water started coming in.

“I just got right up and started helping out any way I could,” Lightsey said. “We were up until four in the morning trying to pull stuff out any way we could. It was pretty
stressful.”

Lightsey said not many things were damaged, except for furniture which got water damage.  

“All of the water is gone out of our basement,” Lightsey said. “We’re just trying to get everything put back together.”

Lightsey said businesses and homes around Foster Park in Kokomo were completely flooded. However, as of Sunday, the water has receded.

He said Saint Andrew Episcopal Church, where his father is the rector, also experienced flooding.

“We had four feet of water in the church,” Lightsey said. “It completely spilled over in certain spots.”

The church had a restoration company out over the weekend, which was running five pumps to keep up with the water intake, Lightsey said.

Instead of the regularly scheduled three services, he said the church only had one this Sunday.

“When the water being pumped out hit the street, they had to stop pumping it,” he said. “We also had no power, because the breaker was lost out there.”

Marc Dahmer, meteorologist for the Indianapolis office of the National Weather Service, said the Kokomo area is now without floods.

“The waters have receded and it’s now under flood stage,” Dahmer said, discussing water in the Kokomo area. “It’s still near flood stage and there’s still standing water up
there.”

However, flood warnings are in effect until Monday, April 29, for portions of rivers in western and southern Indiana, including the Wabash River and White River.

According to the NWS website, the Wabash River at Montezuma reached its highest level in 55 years on Sunday morning.

Lightsey said, since the water was high already, many people said the City of Kokomo could not keep up with it.

“There’s nothing we really could have done,” he said. “Apparently what everyone said it was a failure on the City’s water system. Sewers and drains were backing up all over
town.”

However, Lightsey said his family is just in the process of cleaning up.

“I am a 20-year-old having to share a room with a younger brother,” he said. “It might be awkward at first. We’re doing the best we can to do with what we have right now.”