Rain Creates Flooding Concerns for Central Indiana
STATEWIDE — Rain persisted into Wednesday morning, creating flooding concerns around central Indiana.
Several counties in the east central part of the state were under a Flash Flood Warning as a front stalled, dumping several inches of rain on the area.
As of 6 a.m., parts of Delaware, Henry, Randolph and Rush counties were affected by the warning, according to the National Weather Service. Multiple school districts were closed or delayed.
FOX59/CBS4 has heard about significant flooding in Rush and Henry counties, where the NWS reported up to 4 inches of rain since midnight.
According to the FOX59/CBS4 Weather Authority, the area from New Castle to just north of Connersville has seen up to 10 inches of rain since 6:30 a.m. Tuesday. That’s according to radar estimates.
The NWS said automated gauges showed parts of Decatur and Henry counties have received between 5 and 6 inches of rain since midnight.
Flooding concerns
New Castle Mayor Greg York said his city has seen constant rain during the overnight hours.
York said there were numerous issues across the city, including water main breaks, flooded roads and underwater cars.
FOX59/CBS4 confirmed a road collapse at Crescent Drive and Riley Road. Nearby families have been evacuated.
“We just had new gas lines put through here,” York said. “This was a brand-new road, and now it’s gone.”
“All the roads are flooded,” York told FOX59/CBS4. “The water just keeps coming. We just can’t catch a break. It let up, and then it just pours again. I’m asking everybody to just be patient and drive slow.”
York said the city was seeing high water in places that don’t typically flood. Reporter Hannah Follman encountered knee-high water in some areas along State Road 3. York described it as a “state of emergency.”
The Indiana Department of Transportation said State Road 3 was closed between Indiana Avenue and State Road 38 due to high water. SR 3 southbound was closed due to high water near U.S. 36.
High water wasn’t limited to Henry County.
In Randolph County, all lanes of State Road 1 between State Road 32 and U.S. 36 were closed due to high water, according to an INDOT alert.
INDOT also said all lanes of U.S. 35 northbound and southbound between U.S. 36 and Wilbur Wright Road were closed due to high water.
An INDOT alert citing Indiana State Police said all lanes of U.S. 40 eastbound and westbound were closed at Dale Avenue in Wayne County due to flooding. U.S. 40 was also closed between State Road 1 and Dublin Street for the same reason.
In Delaware County, multiple city and county roads were impassable, according to EMA Director Cory Kissick. There were several reports of cars stalled in the water. The county is under a yellow travel advisory.
The state’s travel advisory map showed Wayne County (yellow), Randolph County (yellow), Union (yellow) and Fayette County (orange) also changed their travel status. Henry County was under a red travel warning.
A refresher on travel status levels:
Yellow (advisory): The lowest level of local travel advisory, meaning that routine travel or activities may be restricted in areas because of a hazardous situation, and individuals should use caution or avoid these areas.
Orange (watch): Means that conditions are threatening to the safety of the public. During a “watch” local travel advisory, only essential travel, such as to and from work or in emergency situations, is recommended, and emergency action plans should be implemented by businesses, schools, government agencies and other organizations.
Red (warning): The highest level of local travel advisory means that travel may be restricted to emergency management workers only. Residents should refrain from travel and follow emergency measures.
Power outages
No widespread power outages are being reported in those areas.
Statewide, however, it’s a different story after powerful storms swept through Indiana on Tuesday.
According to PowerOutage.com, a website that aggregates outages, nearly 300,000 customers were without power statewide as of 8:45 a.m.
More than half of those outages were in Lake County, which reported about 183,000 outages. Neighboring Lake and Porter counties also accounted for a large portion of Indiana’s outages.
AES Indiana reported more than 4,800 outages across its coverage area. Duke Energy reported nearly 8,500 outages, with larger concentrations in the western and southeastern parts of the state.
