Indiana authorities said at least five people have died as a result of severe storms and flooding across the state this week, as first responders used boats to rescue more people Saturday from rising waters in neighborhoods along the White River in Indianapolis.
The state has been hammered over the past week by heavy rains, resulting in rivers reaching record levels and sending residents in search of higher ground. More than a dozen counties have declared local disasters, with much of t
he latest damage concentrated along river corridors from Hamilton County heading into the northern Indianapolis suburbs.
President Donald Trump approved an emergency declaration for Indiana, and federal disaster assistance is available to the state, the Federal Emergency Management Agency said Saturday.
Residents evacuate as water rises
Indianapolis Mayor Joe Hogsett said the city was experiencing its most severe flooding in more than 30 years, noting that conditions were shifting rapidly. Hundreds of homes in neighborhoods that were located between the river and parallel canals were evacuated Saturday, as first responders used boats to rescue people who were already stranded.
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Rita Reith, a spokesperson with the Indianapolis Fire Department, put the number of rescues at 95 people and 45 pets as of late afternoon. Dispatchers had received hundreds of calls for service throughout the day.
The governor’s office reported more than 350 evacuations have occurred in Delaware County and that a senior mobile home community in Tipton County was being evacuated. Rescues and welfare checks also were happening in Fayette County.
Indiana authorities said Saturday at least five people have died as a result of the severe weather over the past week. That includes a boy killed when a tree fell on his home, a woman who was swept away after driving into floodwaters and a teen who was reported missing after jumping in to a river on Wednesday.
“My heart is with the families and loved ones of the five Hoosiers we have lost and every family whose life has been changed by these storms,” Braun said in a statement issued Saturday. “Please continue to take flooding seriously and stay away from floodwaters.”
Rivers and creeks surge after days of rain
Jacob Spence, director of Marion County Emergency Management, called it a once-in-a-lifetime type flood.
“This is an unprecedented event, and unfortunately we’re setting some new records,” he told The Associated Press.
